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Senior civil servant spiked woman’s orange juice with abortion drug so she would lose baby, court hears

A senior civil servant has been accused of spiking his mistress’s drink with abortion-inducing pills after she became pregnant with his baby, a court in London has heard.

Darren Burke, deputy director of the Home Office’s emergency services mobile communication programme, is alleged to have put mifepristone pills, which he claimed to have purchased online, into the orange juice of Laura Slade, a woman with whom he was having an affair at the time. Mifepristone is an abortion-inducing drug.

The married father of one had known Miss Slade for around 13 years before their affair began in late 2020, Isleworth Crown Court in west London heard.

When Miss Slade discovered she was pregnant in November 2020, she messaged Burke. Prosecutor Paul Jarvis said: “There was some discussion about the possibility of a termination and it is clear Mr Burke did not want her to have the baby”.

By the middle of November, Miss Slade had decided that she wanted to have the baby. However, jurors heard that Mr Burke said it would destroy his life if she did. The court heard that Mr Burke encouraged Miss Slade to terminate her pregnancy, and sent her links to an abortion clinic and how to obtain abortion pills.

The jury was shown messages between the two, in which Miss Slade wrote: “You’ve yelled at me, force(d) me to call an abortion clinic, told me how this will destroy your loved ones repetitively, you offered to hold my hand at the abortion clinic, you have crushed my heart”.

During a meet up at Miss Slade’s home in early December 2020, Burke allegedly went to the kitchen and returned with two glasses of orange juice.

“He had a cup of tea himself and they talked about whether his name would appear on the birth certificate and how much money he would contribute”, said the prosecutor.

“However Mr Burke’s main interest was making sure that Miss Slade drank that orange mixture”.

The prosecutor alleged “his motive was obvious. If Miss Slade had kept the baby then his double-life would have come crashing down around him because there was no way he could have kept that child a secret from his wife”.

Miss Slade claimed she found a powdery residue around the rim of the glass that she feared was poison after Mr Burke had poured the liquid away. 

She called the police the next day and analysis confirmed the residue was Mifepristone. Burke was arrested in February 2021. In court, Burke said he bought the pills for about £200, but claimed he could not remember which website he bought the pills from, nor what country he bought them from. 

The court heard that Miss Slade made it clear she did not want to have an abortion during their conversation. Mr Burke claimed he decided to wash the tablets down the sink, and that is where the residue came from.

David Spens QC, defending Mr Burke, suggested Burke was not “insisting” that Miss Slade drink the juice, and had simply asked her because he was being “caring”.

Sadly, Miss Slade later suffered a miscarriage on Christmas Day, something the prosecutor does not link to Mr Burke’s actions. Mr Burke denies unlawfully administering poison with the intent to cause an abortion.

Evidence suggests that as many as a quarter of all abortions are coerced by men.

Right To Life UK spokesperson, Catherine Robinson, said: “If these allegations are true, Mr Burke should be punished under the law to the fullest extent possible. Unfortunately, the availability of ‘DIY’ at-home abortion schemes, provided by abortion providers including BPAS and Marie Stopes, has made it even easier to coerce a woman into having an abortion since there is no way to ensure who ultimately takes the abortion pills and detecting coercion is very hard. These schemes must come to an end as soon as possible”.

Critical appealto protect vulnerable lives

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

The Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill can still be defeated at Third Reading, but only with your help.

Dear reader,

As you already likely know, the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill sadly passed Second Reading at the end of last month.

While it is very disappointing that the Bill passed Second Reading, an analysis published in The Independent shows that at least 36 MPs who supported the Bill did so only to allow further debate or because they had concerns that meant they won’t commit to supporting the Bill at Third Reading. Since then, our Public Affairs team has identified a number of other MPs who share these reservations.

With the vote passing by a margin of 55, just 28 MPs switching their stance to oppose the Bill would ensure it is defeated at Third Reading, so there is a clear path towards this Bill being defeated. We can still win this.

The assisted suicide lobby are fully aware that support for the Bill is very fragile. They will fight fiercely to prevent 28 MPs from switching their votes to oppose the Bill.

For the sake of the hundreds of thousands of vulnerable lives that will be put at risk, we must win the vote and defeat this dangerous Bill.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Our campaign in the run-up to Second Reading was the biggest and most expensive we have ever run and so it has made a significant dent in our limited financial resources.

We are now working on an even bigger campaign to defeat this dangerous Bill at Third Reading.

To ensure we effectively defeat this extreme assisted suicide Bill, we are aiming to raise at least £100,000 by midnight this Sunday (15 December 2024).

Every donation, no matter the size, will mean YOU can make a crucial difference in saving vulnerable lives from this extreme law change.

Will you make a donation now to help protect vulnerable lives from this major threat?

Critical appealto protect vulnerable lives

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

The Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill can still be defeated at Third Reading, but only with your help.