David Cameron urged to sack Kenneth Clarke over rape comments

Ed Miliband urges prime minister to sack justice secretary for suggesting ‘date rape’ is not as serious as other kinds of rape Kenneth Clarke has become embroiled in a major row over sentences for rape after he appeared to suggest that “date rape” did not count as a serious offence, prompting calls for David Cameron to sack his justice secretary. Clarke took to the airwaves this morning in the face of a fierce reaction to the disclosure on Tuesday that he intends to increase the discount for an early guilty plea for rapists from 33% to 50%. But instead of calming the row, the justice secretary’s media appearances and explanations have only served to fuel the controversy. A rape victim broke down in tears after confronting Clarke when he appeared on the BBC Radio 5 Live, telling him his sentence discount plan was a disaster. During other television interviews Clarke appeared to claim that campaigners had only singled out rape because it injected a degree of “sexual excitement” into the argument over discounts for early guilty pleas. But it was his statement that no-one convicted of a “serious rape” would be released as quickly as those guilty of some “date rapes” that sparked a political furore with the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, challenging David Cameron over the matter at prime minister’s question time. More details soon… Kenneth Clarke Rape David Cameron UK criminal justice Alan Travis guardian.co.uk

Posted by on May 18, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.