Bercow introduced Cohen at ParliOut, Parliament’s gay staff network, when he flubbed it. The ex-England rugby international, a married-father-of-two, to the gaff in good stead.
“Don’t tell my wife!” he joked to the room.
Since retiring from rugby, Cohen has launched the StandUP Foundation, which aims to battle homophobic bullying by young people.
Realising his mistake, the MP backpedalled:
‘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!’
