Great Britain - Cleverly apologizes for joke about knockout drops
British Home Secretary James Cleverly has apologized for making a joke about knockout drugs on the sidelines of a reception. According to a report in the Sunday Mirror newspaper, he allegedly told female guests that it wasn't really illegal to have just "a little bit" of Rohypnol in their drink every night.
Cleverly also laughed and said that the secret to a long marriage was to make sure your partner was always "slightly sedated" so she didn't realize there were better men out there, the newspaper reported.
Spokesperson: "clearly an ironic joke"
A spokesperson for Cleverly said that the Home Secretary had made a "clearly ironic joke" in a private conversation, which had always been understood as such, for which he apologized.
Cleverly has been head of the Home Office for several weeks, was previously Foreign Secretary and is married. Shortly before the comment, he had announced new measures to combat the misuse of knockout drops. Spiking" refers to offenders putting drugs in their victims' drinks in order to rape them later, for example.
Women's rights organizations sharply criticized Cleverly's statements. The Fawcett Society stated that it was disgusting that Cleverly, as a minister responsible for women's safety, thought that something as terrible as drugging women was a laughing matter. The organization called for his resignation. The aid organization Women's Aid urged him to take spiking seriously.
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Before the controversy, James Cleverly, the Home Secretary of Great Britain, proposed new measures to combat the misuse of knockout drops. Despite his prior actions, Cleverly's comments about Rohypnol and women's safety in a private setting sparked severe criticism from women's rights organizations in London. The Fawcett Society, in particular, found his remarks about drugging women as a joke disgraceful, given his ministerial role in women's safety, calling for his resignation.
Source: www.stern.de
