Home Secretary faces calls to quit after making joke about spiking his wife’s drink with date rape drug

24 December 2023, 12:08

James Cleverly is facing calls to resign after he joked about putting a date rape drug in wife’s drink, just hours after he announced a spiking crackdown.

He told female guests at the reception that "a little bit of Rohypnol in her drink every night" was "not really illegal if it's only a little bit", the Sunday Mirror reported.

Mr Cleverly also laughed that the secret to a long marriage was ensuring your spouse was "someone who is always mildly sedated so she can never realise there are better men out there".

The Home Secretary has since apologised for what was described as an “ironic joke”.

Mr Cleverly’s unguarded remarks came just hours after his Home Office announced plans to crack down on spiking.

Now domestic abuse campaigners are calling on the Home Secretary to resign for his comments.

Jemima Olchawski, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, lambasted Mr Cleverly’s remarks as she called on the Home Secretary to resign.

She said it is “sickening” that “the senior minister in charge of keeping women safe thinks that something as terrifying as drugging women is a laughing matter".

Ms Olchawski said: "How can we trust him to seriously address violence against women and girls? We deserve better than this from our lawmakers and Cleverly should resign."

Women’s Aid also criticised Mr Cleverly’s remarks.

A statement from the charity read: “We rely on political leaders to take action to end violence against women and girls, and the misogyny that underpins it. It is vital that spiking survivors see ministers treating the subject seriously and not downplaying the reality so many women face.”

A spokesperson for Mr Cleverly said: "In what was always understood as a private conversation, James, the Home Secretary, tackling spiking, made what was clearly meant to be an ironic joke - for which he apologises."

Read More: New measures to tackle spiking announced by government - but stop short of making it specific offence

Read more: Home Secretary 'made date-rape joke about wife' just hours after announcing new anti-spiking law

Conversations at Downing Street receptions are usually understood to be "off the record" but the Sunday Mirror decided to break that convention because of Mr Cleverly's position and the subject matter.

Mr Cleverly has previously described tackling violence against women and girls as a "personal priority" and called spiking a "perverse" crime.

A spokesman for the Home Secretary said: "In what was always understood as a private conversation, James, the Home Secretary, tackling spiking made what was clearly meant to be an ironic joke - for which he apologises."

Senior Labour figures criticised Mr Cleverly's "appalling" comments.

Alex Davies-Jones, shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding, said: "'It was a joke' is the most tired excuse in the book and no one is buying it.

"If the Home Secretary is serious about tackling spiking, and violence against women and girls, then that requires a full cultural change. The 'banter' needs to stop and it has to start at the top."

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: "Spiking is a disturbing and serious crime which is having a devastating impact on young women's lives. It is truly unbelievable that the Home Secretary made such appalling jokes on the very same day the Government announced new policy on spiking.

"It suggests that despite being the Cabinet minister ultimately responsible for tackling violence against women and girls he doesn't get how serious this is. Victims will understandably be questioning if they can trust him to take this vile crime seriously."

Ministers have pledged to modernise the language used in legislation to make clear spiking is a crime and announced a series of other measures as part of a crackdown.

But they stopped short of making spiking - when someone puts drugs into another's drink or directly into their body without their knowledge or consent - a specific offence.

Between May 2022 and April 2023, there were 6,732 reports of spiking in England and Wales - including 957 reported incidents of needle spiking.

On average police receive 561 reports of spiking a month, with the majority being made by women typically after incidents in or near bars and nightclubs, according to a Home Office report.