Home secretary James Cleverly is facing criticism and has seen calls for his resignation after joking about drugging his wife at a Downing Street reception.
This comes after Cleverly had to apologise for use of unparliamentary language towards a Labour MP in November.
According to the Sunday Mirror, Cleverly told female guests that “a little bit of Rohypnol in her drink every night” was “not illegal if it’s only a little bit.”
He also joked that the secret to a lasting marriage was to ensure that one’s spouse was “someone who is always mildly sedated so she can never realise there are better men out there.”
The home secretary made these remarks only hours after he unveiled new measures to tackle spiking, which he had previously described as his “personal priority.”
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Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said it was “truly unbelievable that the home secretary made such appalling jokes on the very same day the government announced a new policy on spiking.”
Cleverly later released an apology via a spokesperson:
“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.”
A spokesperson for Rishi Sunak told reporters:
“The prime minister considers the matter closed, and he and the home secretary are focused on the action the government is taking to tackle spiking and protect women and girls.”
Despite the apology, many are convinced that “banter” like Cleverly’s contribute to rape culture and are calling for Cleverly to resign.
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Jemima Olchawski, Chief Executive of women’s rights charity the Fawcett Society, said:
“We know that ‘banter’ is the excuse under which misogyny is allowed to thrive. We deserve better than this from our lawmakers and he should resign.”
Alex Davies-Jones, shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding, also voiced his disagreement:
“‘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.”
This incident comes two months after Conservative MP Crispin Blunt became the eighth Conservative to lose the whip due to sexual misconduct since 2019.
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Blunt had been arrested for alleged rape in October and released on bail a day later.
In May 2022 a different Conservative MP, Andrew Rosindell, was arrested for suspected rape and sexual assault spanning from 2002 to 2009.
At the time of the arrest, Rosindell remained unnamed for privacy reasons and was asked by the chief whip to stay away from parliament, which he claims he has.
In March 2023 he was reselected to run in the next election for the Conservatives in his seat of Romford, east London.
Conservative party officials stated that not reselecting Rosindell to fight in the election could have led to his identification as the MP under investigation for sexual assault who is currently still on bail.
“Foreign Secretary James Cleverly speaks with Annalena Baerbock” by UK Government is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.