British Home Secretary James Cleverley apologized after he joked that he was drugging his wife through rape at an event at the government headquarters in Downing Street, The Sunday Mirror tabloid reported, News.ro reported.

James Cleverley, appointed in early November, spoke at this reception, on 18 December, on the longevity of marriage and called for a drug-rape (flunitrazepam).

He told some of the women that adding “a few drops of flunitrazepam to their drink every night” was “not really illegal, not even a little bit”, according to The Sunday Mirror.

He also joked that the secret to a strong marriage is to have a wife “always lightly sedated so she never realizes there are better men out there.”

The minister made the comments at a more than inappropriate moment, after his ministry announced on Monday new measures against “spiking” – putting drugs into a person’s drink or body without their consent.

According to official figures, from May 2022 to April 2023, this disaster claimed more than 6,700 lives in the United Kingdom.

Conversations at Downing Street receptions are normally considered confidential, but the tabloid says it decided to break that unwritten rule because of James Cleverley’s ministerial status and the content of his statements.

James Cleverley, married to Sophie with two children, tried to put out the fire through his press secretary.

“Ironic Joke”

“In what was always supposed to be a private discussion, the Home Secretary who raised the spy made what was clearly meant to be a tongue-in-cheek joke, for which he apologises,” he pleads with his adviser.

The opposition reacted instantly.

Important representatives of the Labor Party have condemned these “scandalous” statements by James Cleverley.

Alex Davies-Jones, the minister responsible for domestic violence and protection in the ‘Ghost Cabinet’, dismissed “the most tired excuse in the repertoire that no one believes”!.

“If the Home Secretary is serious about tackling spiking and violence against women, it requires a complete cultural change. Inappropriate comments must stop, and it must start from the highest officials,” Welsh Labor stressed.

“Spiking is a disturbing and serious crime that has devastating consequences for young women’s lives. it’s truly unbelievable that James Cleverley made such shocking jokes on the day the Government announced new anti-gathering measures, reveals Home Secretary Yvette Cooper in the ‘Ghost Cabinet’.

Conservative ministers have promised to modernize the wording used in the legislation to make it clear that spiking is a criminal offense and announced other measures to tackle the scourge.

But they did not turn “binder” into a specific crime.

In November, James Cleverley was criticized for using “inappropriate language” against Labor MP Alex Cunningham.

After that, he publicly apologized.