Home Secretary James Cleverly on Monday gave a “heartfelt” apology for joking about spiking his wife’s drink after women’s rights groups called for his resignation.
“I completely accept that it was hurtful for a number of people, which is why I apologised… and that apology was heartfelt,” he told BBC Breakfast after he made his off-colour remark at a Christmas drinks reception with journalists.
Mr Cleverly defended his record on the issue since taking over the Home Office in November, insisting he had introduced legislation to help tackle the spiking of drinks on the same day of the reception.
“It is something that I've driven into the department from day one,” he said. “So I hope that I'll be judged on my actions on this - my commitment on this is completely undiminished.”
He added: “And when I was Foreign Secretary, I put in place targets to make sure that our aid spending supported women and girls, so I've always been very, very committed to this.”
Mr Cleverly told female guests at a Downing Street event before Christmas 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 in late December.
The Home Secretary 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”.
Mr Cleverly met his wife Susie at university and the couple have two children.
Asked what she had made of his remark, he said: “Well, I've said what I've got to say about that. I have apologised. Obviously the conversations are private conversations that I have with my wife. I'm going to keep those private, if you don't mind.”
The Prime Minister considers the matter closed, Rishi Sunak’s spokesman said after Mr Cleverly first apologised via his press office.
But women’s rights group the Fawcett Society said the comments were “sickening” and was among those calling for Mr Cleverly to resign.
Anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller, who leads the True and Fair Party, said she was “often drugged” in a previous abusive relationship. “Some topics are off limits when it comes to jokes,” she tweeted. “Women need men as allies to help end this evil — not joke about it.”
It is not the first time that Mr Cleverly has got in trouble for his loose language.
The Army Reserve office faced a grilling over whether he had branded the Government’s flagship Rwanda scheme “batshit”, and denied saying a Labour MP’s constituency was a “shithole”.
