Ex-Home Office boss jailed for spiking drink with abortion drug

Mifepristone is a drug used in abortion pills

A married senior civil servant has been jailed for spiking his pregnant girlfriend's orange juice in a bid to cause a miscarriage.

Father-of-one Darren Burke, 43, had been having an affair with Laura Slade, who had become pregnant.

He was found guilty by a jury in May of attempting to administer the drug to procure a miscarriage.

Isleworth Crown Court Judge Alistair Hammerton sentenced him to 45 months in prison.

Burke, a former Home Office deputy director for the emergency services mobile communications programme, had a five-year affair with Ms Slade and she became pregnant at the end of 2020, jurors heard during the trial.

He wanted to prevent his wife and child from finding out about the relationship, the court heard.

When Ms Slade refused to have a termination, jurors were told Burke had laced her drink with mifepristone, a medication used to induce an abortion.

She had an unrelated miscarriage weeks later.

Burke, from Windsor, Berkshire, claimed he had flushed the crushed-up tablets down the sink when it became clear Ms Slade was determined to keep the baby.

Darren Burke was found guilty at Isleworth Crown Court

At the sentencing hearing on Thursday, the judge told him his breach of the trust had damaged Ms Slade's ability to trust others.

The court also heard how she had undergone PTSD therapy following the incident, which "makes her feel sick" to think about, and how she felt "heartbreak" over his "betrayal".

Burke sat in the dock wearing a blue suit with a shirt and no tie and looked down for most of the hearing.

The judge said an aggravating factor in the case was Burke's attempts to conceal his crime by destroying his internet history for the period of time when he bought the pills, and for pouring the drugged juice away when she refused to drink it.

During he trial, the jury heard that Ms Slade had found a white powder on the empty glass and called police the following day.

Mitigating, David Spens QC told the court Burke's wife had "fortunately forgiven him his affair and the offence", but it was "doubtful that he would be able to find employment again".

He also told the court Burke was struggling with the stress of starting a new job after being made redundant as a result of the pandemic and how his father had become paralysed.

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