Mirren under fire for date rape views

Dame Helen Mirren was under fire today after saying date rapists should not always be prosecuted.

In an interview with a men's magazine, in which she also admitted to previously "loving" cocaine, the 63-year-old actress said women who were raped after willingly going to bed with a man should not expect him to be charged.

The Oscar winner, who admitted being the victim of date rape twice in her youth without reporting it, described such attacks as a "tricky area" that had to be worked out between men and women themselves. Dame Helen said that if a woman willingly engaged in sexual activity, she still had the right to say "no" at the last moment. If the man ignored her that was rape, she said.

But the actress added: "I don't think that she can have that man into court in those circumstances.

"I guess it is one of the many subtle parts of the men-women relationships that has to be negotiated and worked out between them."

Solicitor General Vera Baird criticised the comments, describing them as "dangerous" at a time when rape victims were being encouraged to come forward.

"It is a pity because she is such an admired person. It is really a shame to cast doubt at the edges of what she thinks might be rape," she said.

In the same interview, with GQ magazine, Dame Helen also revealed she used dope and cocaine in her youth. "A bit of dope when I was younger. A bit of cocaine. I loved coke. I never did it a lot, just a little bit at parties."