England: barrister argues men should not be prosecuted for rape where woman was drunk

David Osborne said courts should throw cases out where complainants said they were unable to give consent because they had been drinking.

Mr Osborne made the comments in a blog post entitled “She was gagging for it”.

He stated: “Consent is consent, blind drunk or otherwise, regret after the event cannot make it rape.”

Mr Osborne was called to the bar in 1974 and has appeared in numerous rape trials. His views are diametrically opposed to those of director of public prosecutions Alison Saunders.

Ms Saunders said last week complainants must not be blamed because they were incapacitated as a result of taking drugs or drinking too much.

She added: “It is not a crime to drink, but it is a crime for a rapist to target someone who is no longer capable of consenting to sex through drink.”

Katie Russell, of Rape Crisis England and Wales, said: “It is outrageous and depressing that someone practising law in the 21st century should be so unabashed about airing such baldly misogynistic and victim-blaming views.”

Sarah Green, director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said she thought the article was a “sick joke”.

She said: “This is a legal professional indulging in the oldest stereotypes about rape, probably for attention-seeking purposes, and appearing to condone the predatory behaviour of men who target vulnerable girls.

“I suggest he takes time to look at the impact of rape on survivors and how the situation is made worse by being told by people like David Osborne that it is their fault.

“We’ve moved beyond putting restrictions on women’s movement and behaviour. We need to talk about men not raping women, not women preventing rape.”