Ed Miliband called on David Cameron to sack Ken Clarke today after the justice secretary's remarks about rape in a BBC radio interview this morning.
Ed Miliband called on David Cameron to sack Ken Clarke today after the justice secretary’s remarks about rape in a BBC radio interview this morning. At Prime Minister’s Questions, Miliband asked Cameron “to take this opportunity to distance himself”, said “the justice secretary should not be in his post by the end of today”, and urged Cameron to “get rid of his justice secretary”.
Clarke made his controversial comments in an interview with Victoria Derbyshire on BBC Radio Five Live.
To the shock of his interviewer, he spoke about “serious rape… rape in the ordinary conversational sense”, claiming it was different from “date rape”.
Then, when Derbyshire said “rape is rape, with respect”, he replied:
“No it’s not.”
Listen to the key excerpts:
And speaking on Boulton & Co. on Sky News this lunchtime, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said:
“You cannot suggest that there is somehow a category of rape in which somehow the woman is willing. Unless he changes his view very rapidly of course he’s got to go.”
63 Responses to “Interviewer: “Rape is rape, with respect”; Ken Clarke: “No it’s not””
John
greatly enjoyed this interview, think Clark was misunderstood with hasty and inaccurate conclusions of his listeners and really like hearing Ken Clark!
Mike Harding
A few years ago, here in Australia, we had an attack on a young woman by a large group of of young men – the girl was a randomly chosen victim and did not know her attackers. She was on a train going for an interview when she was taken. She was initially raped multiple times in the station toilets, then she was removed to a park (I think) and raped many more times, then she was sluiced down with a garden hose and dumped somewhere. If you were to tell that girl that her ordeal was no worse than that of a date rape victim I think she would disagree. Of course there are degrees of rape just like there are degrees of assault.
Anon E Mouse
Dave Citizen – “Hey Anon – how does it feel to have a left-wing socialist zombie supporting you?”
Seems weird if I’m honest Dave. Glad it’s you though and at least it shows that even socialist zombies can listen to a reasoned argument and realise that in general I tend to be right with my comments on this fine blog.
I’ll have you voting Lib Dem with me in no time Dave…
Anon E Mouse
PJD – That depends on the prosecutor’s assessment of the crime. Yes on your point say with a 15 and 18 year old but where is the line drawn? The discretion is in the charges…
As for crime falling between 1997 and 2010 it dropped worldwide. This was due to better security in domestic homes and vehicles resulting in a drop of offences globally. What’s important here is rape and violent crime and I don’t trust the stats:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/violent-crime-underestimated-for-10-years-971489.html
If crime did fall under Labour it simply reinforces my view that criminals can’t commit crime if they are banged up. Something I support Labour on and not Ken Clarke and this government.
Thanks for making my point for me PJD…
Ash
13eastie
“There is a clear difference between a thirteen-year-old girl being statutorily, consensually “raped” by her boyfriend of the same age, and conspiratorial gang-rape, violent rape of a child by an adult etc.”
But as I understand it, consensual sex with a teenage girl under 16 just *isn’t rape* in the eyes of the law – it’s ‘unlawful sexual intercourse’. So Ken Clarke was compeltely wrong to suggest that some cases of ‘rape’ are not ‘serious’ – indeed, are not cases of rape ‘in the ordinary conversational sense at all’ – because the woman is a willing participant.
There’s no such thing as ‘statutory rape’ in our legal system, so *all* rape involves an unwilling victim (or a ‘willing’ victim under 13. strictly speaking).