Another Bercow puts their foot in it: Commons speaker apologises for wrongly 'outing' former England rugby star Ben Cohen as 'openly gay'

MP was introducing the rugby player at Parliament’s gay staff network

After Bercow's slip-up last night, Cohen called out 'Don't tell my wife!'

Since retiring Cohen has dedicated time to tackling homophobic bullying



Slip up: Commons Speaker John Bercow (right) mistakenly introduced former England rugby star Ben Cohen (left) at an event as 'openly gay' last night

Weighing 16 stone and standing 6ft 2ins tall, former England rugby star Ben Cohen is not someone you would want to offend.

So luckily the happily married father-of-two took it in good spirits when Commons Speaker John Bercow mistakenly introduced him as ‘openly gay’ last night.

The MP was introducing the ex-England rugby international to a room full of guests at ParliOut, Parliament’s gay staff network, when he made the slip-up.

Mr Bercow was left squirming while the audience burst into laughter and Mr Cohen called out: ‘Don’t tell my wife!’

Since retiring from professional rugby in 2011, Mr Cohen, 34, has dedicated much of his time to tackling the problem of homophobic bullying among young people through his StandUP Foundation.

Keen to press home the rugby star’s credentials, Mr Bercow announced: ‘I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Ben Cohen before but I’m delighted to remedy that serious deficit.

‘For those of you who aren’t aware his background is as a rugby international - capped no fewer than 57 times for his country - and he is openly gay and has dedicated himself to fighting for gay rights.’

As the audience roared with laughter Mr Cohen called out: ‘Don’t tell my wife!’ Mr Bercow was left squirming and tried to backtrack.

Couple: Ben Cohen and his wife Abigail seen during the International Rugby Board Awards in Australia in 2003

‘No he’s not openly gay,’ he said, adding: ‘I am not in favour of outing people against their will and that was an ignorant outing that I apologise to Ben for. I’m not sure how I’m going to be getting back from this faux pas!’



The MP later told reporters: ‘That was embarrassing - but he took it in good humour.’

Mr Cohen - who has five-year-old twin daughters, Harriett and Isabelle, with his wife Abigail - was obviously not fazed by Mr Bercow’s blunder.

Writing on his Facebook page afterwards, he said it was a ‘great honour’ to speak to the group and even posted a picture of himself with Mr Bercow at the meeting.

Former star: Ben Cohen (left), the England wing is ankle tapped by Akvsenti Giorgadze (right) of Georgia during a Rugby World Cup match in October 2003 in Australia

But not everyone was so forgiving, with followers speculating that Mr Bercow may have mistaken the rugby star with Benjamin Cohen, the openly gay founder of Pink News.

'For those of you who aren’t aware his background is as a rugby international - capped no fewer than 57 times for his country - and he is openly gay and has dedicated himself to fighting for gay rights' Commons Speaker John Bercow's slip-up

One follower posted: ‘Bit of a faux pas of Bercow to out you as being “openly gay”, the silly old tart could have been more precise between Ben and Benjamin Cohen! Hope the missus gets the right man back home!’

Perhaps Mr Bercow was not the first to have made the mistake. Mr Cohen is considered a gay icon, has posed for the cover of gay magazines and in 2008 was named Gay Times’s sports personality of the year.

Talking of his gay following in 2011 he said: ‘To be honest with you it’s something that’s been going on for about five or six years. I don’t really see myself as a gay icon, but I realise I have this huge following and it’s growing every day.’

Couple: House of Commons Speaker John Bercow and his wife Sally Bercow pictured in April 2011. Lord McAlpine is seeking £50,000 in damages from Mrs Bercow over comments she made about him on Twitter

Welsh international Gareth Thomas was the first top-flight rugby player to openly come out as gay in 2009. He recently said he feared few others would follow suit without a drastic change in the attitude of supporters.



Meanwhile, Mr Bercow's wife Sally is facing action from Lord McAlpine, who was wrongly accused of being a paedophile. He is seeking £50,000 in damages over comments she made about him on Twitter.

She tweeted: ‘Why is Lord McAlpine trending? *innocent face*’, after a botched Newsnight probe claimed an anonymous Conservative figure had sexually abused boys at a Welsh care home.