EXCLUSIVE: James Cleverly called out by Love Island spike victim Sharon Gaffka for date-rape drug joke

Home Secretary James Cleverly has been been criticised by former Love Island contestant Sharon Gaffka, who was a victim of drink spiking, after he joked about Rohypnol

Home Secretary visits police station to thank staff working over Christmas

A Love Island star who was the victim of drink spiking has condemned James Cleverly after he made a joke about giving his wife a date-rape drug.

Sharon Gaffka, who now campaigns on violence against women and girls, accused the Home Secretary of not treating the issue with “the seriousness it deserves”.

The Mirror revealed that Mr Cleverly joked at a Downing Street reception about spiking his wife’s drink with a date-rape drug. He told female guests that “a little bit of Rohypnol in her drink every night” was “not really illegal if it’s only a little bit”. His sick remarks came just hours after his Home Office announced plans to crack down on spiking.

Ms Gaffka accused Mr Cleverly of contributing to the “troubling societal and policing attitudes” about drink spiking.

She told the Mirror: “To address this issue effectively, systemic changes must come from the top. While the Home Secretary’s recent initiatives to combat spiking are acknowledged, they fall short of campaigners’ requests. Coupled with insensitive jokes, it sends a message that the matter isn’t taken seriously.

Sharon Gaffka campaigns on violence against women and girls(Dave Hogan/Hogan Media/REX/Shutterstock) Home Secretary James Cleverly joked about giving his wife a date-rape drug(Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

“During the festive season, incidents of domestic abuse, particularly against women, surge. It’s disappointing that the Home Secretary doesn’t seem to recognise the gravity of domestic abuse and the importance of treating it with the seriousness it deserves.”

In a tweet, she added: “If you were my husband, the only thing you’d be served at Christmas is divorce papers. Disgusting.”

Ms Gaffka, who appeared on ITV’s Love Island in 2021, was out for lunch with friends in a bar in 2020 when her drink was spiked. She was taken to hospital after being found unconscious in a toilet cubicle. The social media influencer has said her “biggest regret” was not reporting her case to police.

Her condemnation of Mr Cleverly came as women’s rights campaigners demanded that he quit.

Fawcett Society chief executive Jemima Olchawski said: “It’s sickening that the senior minister in charge of keeping women safe thinks that something as terrifying as drugging women is a laughing matter. No wonder women don’t feel safe. We know that ‘banter’ is the excuse under which misogyny is allowed to thrive. How can we trust him to seriously address violence against women and girls? We deserve better than this from our lawmakers and Cleverly should resign.”

A string of MPs also have called him out for his remarks. Alex Davies-Jones, shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding, said: “‘It was a joke’ is the most tired excuse in the book and no one is buying it. If the Home Secretary is serious about tackling spiking, and violence against women and girls, then that requires a full cultural change. The ‘banter’ needs to stop and it has to start at the top.”

Labour MP Jess Phillips said: “It will be painted as if we can’t take a joke. We can. We even make them. The thing that men making these jokes don’t understand is that it leaves a trail of breadcrumbs for women to follow to know they won’t be believed. That there experiences are just bantz.”

Fellow Labour MP Stella Creasy said: “As Alanis Morissette taught us, ironic is meeting the man of your dreams and then meeting his beautiful wife, not suggesting she needs to be drugged to have a relationship with you. Good job he’s not in charge of tackling violence against women… oh.”

Mr Cleverly’s “joke” came on the same day he sat in the Commons as his Home Office minister Laura Farris gave a statement on changing the law to tackle spiking.

In a Home Office press release on the announcement Mr Cleverly, 54, said: “The public should be under no illusion – spiking is a serious offence and I urge anyone who suspects they have been a victim of this to contact the police now. This Government has already gone further than ever before to protect the public from harm, and ensuring that women and girls can live their lives free from fear is one of my top priorities as Home Secretary.”

Conversations at Downing Street receptions are usually understood to be “off the record”. The Sunday Mirror decided to publish what Mr Cleverly said because we believe these are exceptional circumstances given his role as Home Secretary and the subject matter. It is our duty to inform readers of what was said by the minister responsible for crime.

Mr Cleverly’s spokesman said: “In what was always understood as a private conversation, the Home Secretary made what was clearly meant to be an ironic joke – for which he apologises.”