Civil servant ‘laced mistress’s drink so she would lose baby’
A SENIOR civil servant laced his pregnant mistress’s orange juice with drugs to try to cause a miscarriage, a court heard yesterday.
Darren Burke, 43, allegedly crushed Mifepristone tablets – a drug used to terminate pregnancies – into Laura Slade’s glass.
But she did not drink it, and found him pouring the liquid down her kitchen sink.
Burke, deputy director of the Home Office’s emergency services mobile communication programme, denies administering a poison with intent to cause miscarriage – and claims he bought the pills online in case Miss Slade wanted to take them.
The married father of one has known Miss Slade for around 15 years and the pair began an affair in late 2020, Isleworth Crown Court in west London heard.
When she 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.
‘She described herself as feeling numb and wanting to think without Mr Burke being in her head. She was told she couldn’t have the baby because it would affect everyone. She took the view he was thinking of himself.’
By November 15 Miss Slade had decided to have the baby but was told by Burke that it would destroy his life if she did, jurors heard. The pair met at Miss Slade’s home on December 4, when Burke 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.’
Mr Jarvis alleged: ‘His motive was obvious. If Miss Slade had kept the baby then his doublelife would have come crashing down around him because there was no way he could have kept that child a secret from his wife.’
After Burke poured the liquid away, Miss Slade claimed she found a powdery residue
‘He had a cup of tea himself’
around the rim of the glass which she feared was poison. The next day she called police. Analysis confirmed the residue was Mifepristone. Burke was arrested in February 2021.
The court heard that when Miss Slade made it clear she did not want to have an abortion during their conversation, Burke claimed he decided to wash the tablets down the sink and that is where the residue came from.
Mr Jarvis told jurors Miss Slade did have a miscarriage, three weeks later on Christmas Day, but he did not link it to Burke’s alleged actions.
Burke, of Old Windsor, Berkshire, denies unlawfully supplying a poison and administering a poison with intent to cause miscarriage.
The trial continues.