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Michael Gove compared himself to an infamous wife-beater and made a joke about Meghan Markle’s “exotic” heritage as he launched a think tank aimed at attracting young people to the Conservative Party.

The Environment Secretary made the comments - later branded "tasteless" and "racist" on Twitter - as he launched ‘Onward’ at a boozy reception in Parliament with Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson.

He joked on Monday night: “Looking around this evening, an evening when we have five speeches, white wine, a warm room, we’re inevitably reminded of weddings.

“And indeed as I came in and the canapés were being handed out someone said it is a bit like a wedding reception.

“I did think for a moment, yes it was.

“Because you have this amazing woman from an exotic background, who turns heads, and who is transforming a staid and traditional institution by sheer force of charisma on the one hand.

(Image: PA)

“And then you’ve got a lad who’s occasionally walked on the wild side, done some naughty stuff, but at last has a chance for redemption.”

He went on to compare himself to two famously terrible celebrity husbands, both of whom have been accused of being physically or psychologically abusive in their relationships.

He said: “In talking of course about weddings, about partnerships, it’s a pleasure of course to be here, particularly for me, with Ruth.

“And spending some time on the same platform with Ruth, I feel rather like Ike to Tina Turner - or Sonny to Cher."

He paused, then after laughter and sharp intakes of breath, he added: “I know where the real talent lies.”

Ike Turner was married to singer Tina from 1962 to 1978.

They divorced after a violent argument, after which the Private Dancer singer publicly accused him of violent spousal abuse throughout their relationship.

(Image: Getty Images Europe)

In a 1985 interview, Ike admitted: “Yeah I hit her, but I didn't hit her more than the average guy beats his wife.”

Cher and Sonny Bono were one of the most iconic couples of the 1970s, shooting to superstardom with their duet ‘I Got You Babe.’

But behind closed doors, Cher has since described him as a “terrible husband”, and listed the reason for their 1974 divorce as “Involuntary Servitude.”

In 1999, she explained: “He was like the father. You know how you can be frightened of your father even if he doesn’t ever do anything?

"It wasn’t like, I mean, he never hit me, never really yelled at me. He could be tough, though.

(Image: PA)

“He could just be real tough in that kind of horrible, tough Sicilian way. I couldn’t stand on my own two feet and talk back to him. That was my problem. I could just never ever talk back to him, and so I never got any of my needs met that weren’t what he felt they should be.”

Ms Davidson had earlier joked that the best way to present the modern face of the Conservative Party was to invite the “pregnant lesbian” to speak.

Taking the stage for his speech, Mr Gove said: “In future when think tanks ask please, can we get a pregnant lesbian, the answer for all those of us who are modernisers in the Conservative Party should be ‘which of the many pregnant lesbians?’."

It came as Ms Davidson said Tories had looked too "dour", "joyless" and "authoritarian".

Calling on Conservatives to "not just speak to our tribe", she added: "We don't get to win if we start hectoring the people we need to vote for us.

"We don't get to say 'please stand on the right' like every Tube message out there. "We've got to learn to be a bit more joyful."