London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Home Office boss 'spiked pregnant mistress's orange juice to cause miscarriage'

Home Office boss 'spiked pregnant mistress's orange juice to cause miscarriage'

A married Home Office senior director is accused of spiking his pregnant lover’s orange juice with an abortion drug to stop his ‘double life crashing down around him’.

Darren Burke, 43, from Old Windsor, was suspended from his government role after he allegedly crushed tablets into Laura Slade’s glass during a discussion about child support.

Isleworth Crown Court heard she became suspicious after spotting powdery residue in her drink and called police the day after in March, 2020.

Forensic analysis later confirmed it was Mifepristone, which doctors prescribe for a pregnancy termination.

Paul Jarvis, prosecuting, told jurors that Burke, who has a child from his wife, had pleaded with his mistress to have an abortion.

‘She was told she couldn’t have the baby because it would affect everyone,’ he added.

‘She took the view that he was thinking of himself. His motive was obvious.

‘If Ms 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.’

He allegedly bought the abortion drug Mifepristone online

Burke pictured arriving at Isleworth Crown Court with his wife


The court heard the pair first met at a nightclub in Kingston-upon-Thames in 2005, but they began an affair in late 2020.

When she discovered she was pregnant in November 2020, Ms Slade texted Burke on WhatsApp to tell him the joyous news.

‘There was some discussion about the possibility of Ms Slade having a termination and it is clear from messages that Mr Burke did not want her to have the baby,’ Mr Jarvis said.

‘She described herself as feeling numb and wanting to think without Mr Burke being in her head.’

Ms Slade wanted to have the baby, which was due in July, but her ex threatened that she would be destroying his family life.

The pair arranged to meet at her home where the accused is alleged to have laced her drink with the abortion drug.

The prosecutor said: ‘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.’

Ms Slade refused to drink the orange mixture, which Burke then poured into the kitchen sink.

Three weeks later, on Christmas Day, she had a miscarriage but this was not linked with the drug found in her glass.

Burke, former deputy director for the emergency services mobile communications programme at the government agency, denies supplying a poison and unlawfully administering it to procure a miscarriage.

When he was arrested in February last year, he admitted buying the Mifepristone tablets online but told police this was in case Ms Slade wanted to take them.

When she made it clear to him that she did not want to have an abortion during their conversation, Burke said he decided to wash them down the sink, the court heard.

‘The prosecution case is that these explanations are fantasies,’ Mr Jarvis concluded.

‘He bought the tablets and found a way to trick Ms Slade into taking them to create a miscarriage.

‘His plan was to break the tablets down into a drink where the grains would not be obvious to Ms Slade. His plan failed.’

The trial continues tomorrow.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
×