I have been listening to Talksport radio for too long. I was starting to believe that the only news story worth discussing this week was West Ham’s relegation to the Championship. There was much hilarious speculation about whether or not Barcelona would go down if Avram Grant were to manage them, and then there was a serious issue worth discussing… Kenneth Clarke, the Justice Secretary, made some comments on my other favourite radio station, BBC 5 Live, yesterday morning that have sparked a huge political debate.
Ken Clarke tried to suggest that there are different situations in which some rape cases deserve longer sentences than others. What is wrong with that? He used the example of a seventeen-year-old having sex with a willing fifteen-year old being a different, (i.e. less serious) type of rape than a violent attack by a stranger. The point of this discussion is that the Government is considering increasing the plea bargain system in the case of a number of serious crimes including rape. Those convicted can already get up to a 33% reduction in their sentence, if they plead guilty early. The new proposals would increase it to 50%.
There are far too many people in UK prisons at the moment, and not many of them are rapists. Any new proposals that might improve the current conviction rate for rape from a pitiful 6%, seems worth discussing to me. Rape is a particularly difficult crime to prosecute. Many victims don’t want to suffer the indignity of having their personal lives picked over in court; or they may not want to testify because they feel intimidated by their attacker. And in many cases where the two people involved know each other, it is often very difficult to prove that the victim did not consent, when there are no witnesses, and that the perpetrator did not have a reasonable belief that she was consenting, especially if there is alcohol thrown into the mix as well.
Ken Clarke’s mistake is to go on 5 Live and talk in a blokey, as in rather clumsy, way about different types of rape. He spoke, as he always does, in a very plain-speaking way that actually appeals to many people. Rape is rape and always a serious offence but the 2003 Sexual Offences Act itself recognises that some offences are more serious than others and this is reflected in the different tariffs that take account of different circumstances in which sexual offences are committed. And judges and the prosecution service use their discretion when differentiating between two young people having sex and a violent gang rape.
The Sun Newspaper’s front-page headline today: ‘Clarke’s a danger to women…’ is ridiculous. As was Ed Miliband’s opportunistic and patronising comment that, ‘The Justice Secretary cannot speak for the women of this country.’ Neither do you Mr Miliband! There is something wrong with the world when The Sun is supporting Labour, and I am supporting an old Tory like Ken Clarke. But he is one of the good Tories, liberal in his views and impeccable in his private life. Ed Miliband, on the other hand, looks like the idiot here, demanding Mr Clarke’s resignation. As Labour leader, he should be supporting any Government proposals to reduce the prison population and secure more convictions. Better still, he should resign and let his brother have a go. I always thought David should have won.
