Rishi Sunak 'has confidence' in James Cleverly as date-rape joke pressure grows
Rishi Sunak is under mounting pressure to condemn Home Secretary James Cleverly for joking about giving his wife a date-rape drug.
A No10 source said the Prime Minister still had confidence in Mr Cleverly despite calls for the top Tory to resign over his vile remarks at Downing Street reception. The Mirror revealed that the Home Secretary told female guests that "a little bit of Rohypnol in her drink every night" was "not really illegal if it's only a little bit".
He 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.” His comments came hours after his own department announced plans to crack down on spiking.
Mr Cleverly’s spokesman said: “In what was always understood as a private conversation, the Home Secretary made what was clearly meant to be an ironic joke – for which he apologises.” But the comments triggered a ferocious backlash, with Labour's Yvette Cooper saying it was "truly unbelievable" that the Home Secretary could joke about such a "serious and devastating crime".
James Cleverly made the joke about his wife at a Downing Street reception (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Critics have called for the Home Secretary to resign from his post (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)Mr Sunak has failed to speak out despite warnings the Home Secretary's remarks were “upsetting and triggering” to victims of spiking and sexual assault. David Challen, whose mother Sally had a murder conviction quashed after suffering years of coercive control, said Mr Cleverly could no longer be taken seriously in efforts to tackle violence against women.
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He tweeted: "No domestic abuse services, women’s orgs nor victims/domestic abuse commissioners should be expected to take James Cleverly seriously in his duty to lead on tackling VAWG now. These groups dedicate their entire lives to this work, meanwhile he makes jokes about it. Resign."
He added: "If the Rishi Sunak cannot sack James Cleverly, then it is all too clear that the PM’s need for power is greater than the urgent need to effectively tackle male violence against women and girls... Cleverly’s comments cannot be defended."
Fawcett Society chief executive Jemima Olchawski said: "It's sickening that the senior minister in charge of keeping women safe thinks that something as terrifying as drugging women is a laughing matter. No wonder women don't feel safe. We know that 'banter' is the excuse under which misogyny is allowed to thrive.
"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."
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Katie Russell, CEO and co-founder of Support After Rape and Sexual Violence Leeds, said the comments showed "how seriously rape culture still has a grip on our society". She added: "The comments themselves were appalling and could be very upsetting, triggering and retraumatising for anyone who’s experienced drug rape, drugging or sexual violence of any kind – which is very many people.”
Conversations at Downing Street receptions are usually understood to be “off the record”. The Sunday Mirror decided to publish what Mr Cleverly said because we believe these are exceptional circumstances given his role as Home Secretary and the subject matter.
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