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David Cameron urged to sack Kenneth Clarke over rape comments
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Candidate
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| Contributor | Craverguy |
| Last Edited | Craverguy May 18, 2011 01:07pm |
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| Category | Scandal |
| Author | Alan Travis, Patrick Wintour, and Hélène Mulholland |
| Media | Newspaper - Guardian |
| News Date | Wednesday, May 18, 2011 06:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Kenneth Clarke has become embroiled in a major row over sentences for rape after appearing to suggest that "date rape" did not count as a serious offence, prompting calls from Ed Miliband for David Cameron to sack his justice secretary.
Clarke took to the airwaves on Wednesday morning in the face of a fierce reaction to the disclosure on Tuesday that he intends to increase the maximum 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 BBC Radio 5 Live, telling him his sentence discount plan was a disaster.
During other television interviews, Clarke appeared to claim campaigners had only singled out rape because it injected a degree of "sexual excitement" into the argument over discounts for early guilty pleas for all offences.
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 as Labour leader Miliband challenged Cameron over the matter at prime minister's questions.
Miliband said: "The prime minister, when he leaves this chamber, should go and look at the comments of the justice secretary and then he should say to him very clearly the justice secretary should not be in his post at the end of today."
But immediately after question time, the prime minister's spokesman said Clarke was not going to be sacked but would have to clarify his remarks. |
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