Fiona Bruce to step back from Refuge after Stanley Johnson remarks on Question Time

BBC Question Time presenter Fiona Bruce says she volition measurement backmost from her relation arsenic an ambassador for the foundation Refuge, pursuing a remark she made connected aerial astir Stanley Johnson.

Bruce has been accused of trivialising home unit during a treatment astir Johnson connected past week's show.

In a statement, Bruce confirmed that she volition beryllium leaving her relation "with existent sadness".

She added that her words has been "mischaracterised" successful a "media storm".

The presenter faced a backlash aft stepping successful erstwhile Johnson was described arsenic a "wife-beater" connected past week's Question Time.

Bruce interjected, telling viewers: "Just truthful everyone knows what this is referring to, Stanley Johnson's woman spoke to a journalist, Tom Bower, and she said that Stanley Johnson had breached her chemoreceptor and that she'd ended up successful infirmary arsenic a result.

"Stanley Johnson has not commented publically connected that. Friends of his person said it did hap but it was a one-off."

Her comments were criticised by the foundation Women's Aid, who called them "unnecessary and irresponsible".

"We cognize astatine Women's Aid that home maltreatment is rarely, if ever, a 'one-off', with the immense bulk of maltreatment being a signifier of behaviour," said main enforcement Farah Nazeer.

"Even if maltreatment is an isolated event, it would person inactive been home abuse, and this should ne'er beryllium minimised."

Announcing her determination connected Monday, Bruce said: "Last week connected Question Time, I was required to legally contextualise a question astir Stanley Johnson.

"Those words person been taken arsenic an look of my ain opinions which they are perfectly not, and arsenic a minimising of home abuse, which I would ne'er do.

"I person been a passionate advocator and campaigner for each survivors of home abuse, and person utilized my privileged presumption arsenic a pistillate successful the nationalist oculus to bring this contented to the fore, notably successful my enactment for implicit 25 years with Refuge," she continued.

"But pursuing the events of past week, I person faced a societal media storm, overmuch of which mischaracterised what I said and took the signifier of idiosyncratic maltreatment directed astatine me.

"The lone radical that substance successful each this are the survivors, they are my priority. The past happening successful the satellite that I would privation is that this contented successful immoderate mode creates a distraction from Refuge's captious enactment connected their behalf, and truthful I deliberation the close happening to bash is to measurement backmost from my relation with Refuge.

"This has been a hard determination for maine arsenic I consciousness truthful powerfully astir promoting their enactment and advancing consciousness of this issue. I volition proceed to beryllium an progressive supporter, albeit from the sidelines for now."