Doncaster MP Nick Fletcher insists he 'did not link Doctor Who being a woman to men committing crime'

In a speech on International Men’s Day, the Conservative MP for Don Valley Nick Fletcher called for the need for more positive male role models for young boys. He reeled off facts around poorer educational standards, higher rates of crime and the vast majority of men being rough sleepers.

He then turned to film and TV and said: “There seems to be a call from a tiny, yet very vocal minority, that every male character or good role model must have a female replacement.

“There only needs to be a discussion around who is the next James Bond. It’s not just James Bond, in recent years we have seen Doctor Who, Ghostbusters, Luke Skywalker, The Equalizer, all replaced by women.

“Men are left with the Krays and Tommy Shelby. Is there any wonder we are seeing so many young men committing crime?”

The speech in Westminster Hall resulted in the video going viral on social media and brought condemnation from many.

But in a statement published on Twitter, Mr Fletcher hit back at his critics and said he was in fact not making a link between Doctor Who being played by a woman and men committing crime.

He said his ‘nuanced’ point was ‘misconstrued’ and that he was in fact making the point that the majority of role models on TV for young boys are ‘violent criminals’.

“As has been alleged by several lazy individuals, I did not link a Doctor Who being female to crime being committed by men. In fact, I was making a statement that boys and young men all need positive role models within the media, just as women do.”

The full statement from Mr Fletcher read: I was pleased to speak at the International Men’s Day debate today, especially as it gave me a chance to raise several points that are often a little overlooked within political discourse.

"These points namely touched upon poor academic attainment of boys in schools and a lack of positive role models for many struggling young males in society.

"Naturally, as is often the case, my rather nuanced point that there are increasingly fewer positive male role models for young boys was almost immediately misconstrued.

"My point was, in fact, a straightforward one and in no way linked to Dr [sic] Who being a female to crime being committed by men.

"As alluded to earlier in my speech, teachers, parents and carers need to teach young men and boys that makes can make a positive difference.

“Promoting this can be done through various means, including through films and programmes.

"Yet something often not discussed is that the only characters many boys with no good make role models in their lives seen on television and online are increasingly criminal.

"For whatever reasons, there appears to be a certain squeamishness when pointing out that when a boy’s role models are all violent criminals (fictional or not0, this negatively influences how they view masculinity and what it means to be a man.

"As has been alleged rather lazily by several individuals, I did not link a Dr [sic] Who being female to crime being commitment by men. In fact, I was making a statement that boys and young men also need positive role models within the media, just as women do.

"Boys need positive make role models, and that is a point that I will continue to reiterate and never apologise for making.”