Fiona Bruce sparks BBC Question Time outrage with 'disgusting' reaction to Matt Goodwin grooming gang point: 'Tried to SILENCE him!'

The panel had plenty to discuss and debate, ranging from the stripping of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor's Prince title to the future of asylum hotels and military barracks alternatives, the upcoming Budget, proposed benefit cuts, and the government's immigration policy as a whole.

Throughout the show, it's safe to say Mr Goodwin found himself at loggerheads with his fellow panellists, and at one point, even with host Ms Bruce herself.

Early on in the show, after hearing Ms Nandy's defence of the government's performance when it came to immigration, Mr Goodwin laid out his stance.

"It’s always interesting listening to a Labour politician talk about common sense, because that is the opposite of what is happening in this country right now," he mocked.

"Everybody who’s looking at the absolute shambles of the borders, everybody in this country is paying £15 billion to accommodate people who are often breaking our laws.

"These islands are known for having a sense of fairness. We created the idea of fair play. That is not what is happening in this country. We have governments, both Tory and Labour, which are incentivising people to break our laws, enter our country illegally, and, to be frank, putting women, children, our people, at risk.

"That’s what we’ve seen for much of the last week. From Walsall, Rhiannon White, the young mother, stabbed in the head 20 times by an illegal migrant from Sudan. That’s what we’ve seen in places like Uxbridge. That’s what we’ve seen in places like Bournemouth.

"This is a complete shambles. We need to put the British people first, take control of our borders, leave the European Convention on Human Rights, repeal Tony Blair’s Human Rights Act, and detain and deport anybody who arrives illegally."

A ripple of applause emerged from the Bradford audience, but it was the response from Ms Shaheen that garnered a louder reception.

Disputing Mr Goodwin's point, she fired back: "There’s no doubt that there is absolute chaos in what our asylum system looks like right now. Whether you look at how slow it’s been to process the applications, or where people are living, and what’s happened in some of those communities.

"But I really want to pull you up, Matt, on this point, about saying they’re often breaking laws. There are, of course, some people that are doing things that are deplorable and wrong, and they need to be deported and put in jail, and the rest of it. But those are the minority.

"And I really want to highlight this, because I, at Christmas, was invited by this refugee charity local to me in East London, and was asked to do a competition that children were doing.

"And, honestly, these families, some of them had come through irregular routes. They want the same things as us. They want their kids to do well in school.

"They’re coming from places like Iraq and Afghanistan, which most of us here have memories long enough to understand that we have a role in why those countries are in a bad way. From Sudan, where there’s absolutely atrocious things happening on the ground that we don’t talk enough about. And the UAE is one of the countries involved there, and we sell them arms. So, again, this has something to do with us.

"And we should absolutely just push away this idea that somehow we should be scared of all asylum seekers. Because many of them are just normal people trying to escape very horrible, difficult situations, and just live a good life," she signed off.

As the show progressed, Mr Goodwin continued to clash with his fellow panellists over what should be done to protect the nation's borders, which prompted another heated exchange with one audience member.

The Question Time guest said to Mr Goodwin: "I think it’s quite poor that today you’ve used immigrants as a scapegoat for every single issue that we’ve discussed.

"I don’t think it’s a very good look for Reform, especially considering the racist stereotypes around them, and pushing immigrants to the forefront for every single issue that is very real to all of us."

An undeterred Mr Goodwin once again stood his ground. "I used to work a lot in polling. You look at the polls at the moment — the number one issue for the British people in this country, it might not always be reflected in the debates that we have — the number one issue in this country is immigration," he replied.

"People out there are really concerned about what’s happening to their country. So many people said to me, coming into this, they said, 'Matt, can you just please put this issue on to the agenda?' Because Westminster — notice here — desperate not to talk about it, don’t want to talk about what’s happening to our country, what’s happening to good, law-abiding, hard-working people.

"We need to end mass uncontrolled immigration, control the borders, and put British people where they belong — which is first."

But the moment that had fans talking the most came when Ms Bruce asked the panel to react to the news that Andrew Mountbatten Windsor was to lose his Prince title and be booted from his residence at Royal Lodge.

Mr Goodwin took the opportunity to bring up the separate issue of grooming gangs. "The key question is, why has it taken so long? And around the world, men who have preyed on and abused women — there’s a reckoning," he began.

"There’s a reckoning that is now coming, which raises another question: why has it taken the Labour government so long to give us a national inquiry into the truth of the rape gang scandal — the mass abuse of white working-class girls by Pakistani Muslim men?"

"Hang on," Ms Bruce said as she attempted to intervene while some members of the Bradford crowd began to groan. Mr Goodwin continued: "We're in Bradford. Bradford refused to hold a local inquiry into the rape gangs. Bradford refused. Bradford refused to hold an inquiry into rape gangs. Lisa, when are we getting the national inquiry into the rape gangs?"

When an audience member appeared to echo Mr Goodwin's stance amid the murmurs of discontent of others in the audience, Ms Nandy responded: "We’re working with victims to make sure that we establish that inquiry with a scope and a remit that will actually deliver justice.

"Having worked with children who’ve been abused for a long time before I came into Parliament, and having stood up for girls who’ve been groomed — and I have to say this to you, Matt — these girls who were groomed over a long period of time in many parts of the country, they weren’t believed for three reasons.

"They weren’t believed because they were young, they weren’t believed because they were female, and they weren’t believed because they were working-class.

"And I can tell you, having worked with young working-class girls from both white and Pakistani backgrounds who were the victims of those grooming gangs — you do us no favours when you try to make this just a party case."

Mr Goodwin attempted to chip back into the discussion to point out that those raising concerns were often labelled "far-right" and subsequently ignored, but Ms Bruce refused to let him elaborate, firmly stating: "Matt! Matt, you’ve made your point. There are people here who want to talk about the issue that we raised, and I’m determined to let them do that."

Mr Goodwin shared the clip of Ms Bruce's intervention on social media soon after, along with the caption: "All I heard last night on Question Time was people talking about the rights of illegal migrants who are breaking our laws. I heard nobody talking about the rights of the British people."

And before long, X was awash with BBC viewers who were similarly perturbed with Ms Bruce's attempt to interrupt Mr Goodwin when the topic of grooming gangs was raised.

"I cannot believe the speed with which Fiona Bruce’s head spun round *and sought to shut him down* when Matt Goodwin dared to mention Pakistani Muslim grooming gangs - in Bradford of all places... #bbcqt," one fan fumed.

"Fiona Bruce tried to silence him the minute he mentioned the word Pakistani. #BBCQT," a second said before a third pointed out: "Goodwin’s on the warpath over the rape gangs, and Fiona Bruce’s feathers are well and truly ruffled. Even now, with all the evidence out in the open, the Left still can’t face this head-on."

"Too much for the BBC’s Fiona Bruce who immediately intervenes to try to close Matt down," a fourth weighed in before a fifth said: "You can hear the panic in @fionab5uce Fiona Bruce’s voice as she tries to shut you down! Well done @GoodwinMJ."

And a sixth added to the discussion: "Fiona Bruce trying to shut you down, honestly it’s disgusting what’s going on in the establishment!! Poor kids will never get justice."

“We created the idea of fair play, that is not what is happening in this country“

GB News presenter Matthew Goodwin says successive governments’ immigration policies have been a “complete shambles” and the “opposite” of common sense#bbcqt pic.twitter.com/UwvKOCqjQw

— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) October 30, 2025

"Fiona Bruce shuts down Matt Goodwin for talking about grooming gang victims, when it was Lisa Nandy who brings it up! Unbelievable. #bbcqt," a seventh contributed while an eighth echoed: "Notice when Fiona Bruce jumped in? As soon as @GoodwinMJ said the word 'Pakistani'. Being in Bradford is the perfect time to bring this up, but the @BBC don't like it and neither did @lisanandy!"

However, Ms Bruce did receive plenty of plaudits for how she mediated the Bradford panel, with others also taking aim at Mr Goodwin's conduct.

"Fiona Bruce as a Question Time host is just a gem. Controls her panelists with such Panache and calmness," one X user argued.

A second weighed in: "Mathew Goodwin, not the mouthpiece of Reform (yeah right), behaved disgracefully on BBCQT last night."

And a second sided with the QT audience's response to the GB News star: "My goodness Matt Goodwin comes across as an obnoxious, hateful one-trick pony. Glad much of the #bbcqt audience saw through his schtick and agree." (sic)