No parent wants their daughter to be in those circumstances.
Darren Jones got emotional on live TV while discussing the Hampshire rape case (Image: BBC)
Labour MP Darren Jones was slammed by viewers for his “crocodile tears” when he shared his thoughts on the sexual attacks in Hampshire. Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC Sunday programme, the politician said he’s worried about the message to the public when he learned that the perpetrators have been spared jail.
This week, Southampton Crown Court heard the two boys, both aged 15 at the time, raped two teenage girls in two separate attacks that occurred between 2024 and 2025 in Fordingbridge, Hampshire. They were given three-year Youth Rehabilitation Orders as judge Nicholas Rowland said: “I should avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily and understand the effects of their behaviour and support their reintegration into society.”
The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister welled up on live TV when Kuenssberg asked whether the victims’ families should appeal.
The Labour MP was fighting back tears in the studio (Image: BBC)
He said: “It’s a horrifying story. For any parent to imagine their children in these situations is unimaginable. As a minister, what I can’t do is get ahead of the Attorney General. But look, as a parent and a member of the public, you can imagine what my personal view is on the situation. As a minister, I’m not allowed to get ahead of the Attorney General’s decision. But those girls deserve justice, as do their families, both of them, and the other girls have been put in that position. The boys need to know they can’t behave in that way and get away with it.
Jones fought back tears and admitted to Kuenssberg that it was “very hard to watch” and that “no parent wants their daughter to be in those circumstances”. He also said the boys need to know they cannot behave that way as it is “not acceptable in society”, adding: “Those young women deserve justice.”
The politician’s reaction divided the viewers, with one saying: “I’m not fooled by the crocodile’s tears of this government goon.”
“Darren Jones deserves an Oscar. Welling up?” Another wrote while a third shared: “Fake emotions for votes.”
But some were relieved that there’s a ‘fresh change’. A person penned: “I thought Darren Jones gave a really sensible, thoughtful and solid interview. A refreshing change.”
“Quite refreshing to see Darren Jones show some emotion discussing the poor girl raped. Now do something,” a second added.
A government spokesperson said the Attorney General’s office had received ‘multiple’ requests for the sentences to be reviewed under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.
It said its thoughts were with the young victims – and that its law officers, the attorney general and the solicitor general, were “urgently reviewing the case with the utmost care and attention”.
They will now have up to 28 days to decide the case and may refer it to the Court of Appeal for a hearing.
**If you’ve been the victim of sexual assault, you can access help and resources via **www.rapecrisis.org.uk** or calling the national telephone helpline on 0808 802 9999**