Interviewer: “Rape is rape, with respect”; Ken Clarke: “No it’s not”

Left Foot Forward

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.”

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63 Responses to “Interviewer: “Rape is rape, with respect”; Ken Clarke: “No it’s not””

  1. Kevin Richards

    Shameful – RT @leftfootfwd: Interviewer: "Rape is rape, with respect"; Ken Clarke: "No it's not" http://t.co/2T5J44z

  2. sausages

    I am amazed by how many people are completely unaware of the law here. Consensual sex involving people over 13 years is not ‘statutory rape’. It would be unlawful sex with a child under 16. Under 13 years of age it would be ‘statutory rape’ insofar as someone aged 12 years or younger is not legally deemed able to consent. What is particularly concerning is that Ken Clarke doesn’t know this.

  3. PJD

    Ken Clarke and some of the above are seemingly unaware of the sexual offence of “unlawful sexual intercourse”.

    Anon E Mouse – crime fell between 1997 and 2010.

  4. FJ

    #15: I agree with the example you have given, and he did indeed say something along those lines; and if he had left it at that nobody would have been complaining, it is a perfectly valid point; I would in fact go further and say there should be laws allowing activity between minors providing there is an age difference of, say, two years or less.

    The outrage is his assertion that “date rape” is somehow OK: date rape being when a partner in a relationship forces the other partner into non-consensual activity. In my opinion it is just as bad as street rape, and it is sad that some people seem to think forcing somebody else into sex is ok if they are in a relationship. Its not!

  5. Justine Deeken

    Interviewer: "Rape is rape, with respect"; Ken Clarke: "No it's …: Ed Miliband called on David Cameron to sack… http://bit.ly/jtt1GH

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