My husband isn't gay: Danish PM
2012-08-25 21:00
Copenhagen - Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt on Saturday dismissed as "not true at all" claims about the sexuality of her husband, the son of the former leader of Britain's Labour party.
The sexuality of Stephen Kinnock, whose father Lord Neil Kinnock is a former European commissioner, was questioned in 2010 as government auditors looked at the couple's taxes.
For some reason, Thorning-Schmidt and Kinnock's accountant told tax inspectors that Kinnock is "bisexual/homosexual", according to an e-mail quoted by the respected Danish daily newspaper Politiken.
The couple were being audited after reports they claimed excessive tax allowances based on where Kinnock was living.
Thorning-Schmidt, who became Denmark's first female prime minister in September, has called for higher taxes on the wealthy.
In an interview with Politken on Saturday she said: "It is strange to be confronted by this type of rumour, when it's not true at all."
Government auditors had looked at the couple's accounts to see whether Kinnock, a director of the World Economic Forum in Geneva, had spent weekends at the family home in Copenhagen but understated the amount of time he spent in Denmark in order to pay lower taxes in Switzerland.
They were cleared in that case though last year faced similar allegations.
"We live in an unusual way, since we don't live together. He today lives in London and I live in Copenhagen. But we've been together 20 years. ... We live a family life that we think works for us and our two kids," the prime minister said.
She added that she wanted to make clear that the "baseless" rumours came about just because of the tax audit and that she had "no idea" why the accountant thought Kinnock is gay or bisexual.
She also called on the media and the public to respect their marriage.
- SAPA
