RUMOURS SURROUNDING British Foreign Secretary William Hague’s sexuality are not going away.

Despite – or perhaps because of – an unusually frank statement made by Hague yesterday, in which he refuted claims that he had engaged in a sexual relationship with an aide, he has drawn even more attention to the issue.

Christopher Myers, the aide in question, has resigned in response.

The statement

Questions surround the two men sharing hotel room during a recent election campaign.

In his statement, Hague’s said:

Any suggestion that his appointment was due to an improper relationship between us is utterly false, as is any suggestion that I have ever been involved in a relationship with any man.

This speculation seems to stem from the fact that whilst campaigning before the election we occasionally shared twin hotel rooms. Neither of us would have done so if we had thought that it in any way meant or implied something else.

Hague also included intimate details of his marriage in the statement, revealing that his wife Ffion had suffered multiple miscarriages.

I have made no secret of the fact that Ffion and I would love to start a family. For many years this has been our goal. Sadly this has proved more difficult for us than for most couples. We have encountered many difficulties and suffered multiple miscarriages, and indeed are still grieving for the loss of a pregnancy this summer.

Hague was reportedly strongly advised not to make a statement by Tory advisors, and it seems they might have been right; the statement appears to have made more of an impact than rumours ever had.  It has also drawn sharp criticism from those who believe that he went too far into his personal life.

Criticism

Sally Bercow, wife of Speaker of the House of Commons, told BBC Radio 4′s Today programme:

I think he was given duff PR advice. It’s elevated something that was circulating on the internet to the national press and the national media…I think politicians should be honest about their private life when it impacts on their job. I don’t think it was necessary for William Hague to give this level of information about his wife’s miscarriages.

Her comments come after senior Tory colleagues openly critcised Hague’s judgement on the matter. Former Conservative Cabinet ministers, John Redwood and Lord Tebbit both raised doubts about his future as the British Foreign Secretary.

Redwood commented: “Mr Hague himself now seems to understand that it was poor judgment to share a hotel room with an assistant,” while Tebbit said Hague had been “naive at best, foolish at worst”.

Reaction is hot on Twitter today: The consensus broadly concludes that Hague’s sexuality has no bearing on his ability to do his job. Over 100 users have retweeted a comment by journalist Johann Hari, who wrote:

There’s a hundred good reasons to criticize William Hague. His personal life isn’t one of them. Lay off. We don’t want Guido Fawkes politics.

However, others have pointed out that if Hague were involved in an intimate relationship with a person who is paid from the public purse , this could raise questions about propriety.