Why Rishi Sunak is under fire for trans ‘joke’
Sir Kier Starmer hit out at Rishi Sunak on Wednesday after the Prime Minister tried to joke about Labour’s stance on gender identity.
Mr Sunak took aim at the Labour leader’s views on “defining a woman” during Prime Minister’s Questions.
Esther Ghey was due to appear in the House of Commons’ public gallery during the session, just four days after her 16-year-old child Brianna’s killers were jailed for life.
Two teenagers were given life sentences over Brianna “brutal, planned and sadistic” murder in 2023.
Mrs Justice Yip said a “deep desire to kill” motivated Brianna’s killers, as well as a hostility towards her transgender identity.
What has the response been to Rishi Sunak’s comments?
Sir Keir rebuked the Prime Minister’s remarks accusing Mr Sunak of “parading as a man of integrity when he has got absolutely no responsibility”, while shouts of “shame” rang out from the backbenches.
He said: “I think the role of the prime minister is to make sure that every single citizen in this country feels safe and respected, and it’s a shame the Prime Minister doesn’t share that.
“Of all the weeks to say that, when Brianna’s mother is in this chamber.”
The leader of the opposition was scheduled to meet Ms Ghey after PMQs, however, it is understood that she entered the public gallery after Mr Sunak’s initial remark.
Ben Bradshaw, one of the first openly gay MPs elected to Parliament, later said Mr Sunak’s statements amounted to “transphobic slurs”.
Labour then called on Mr Sunak to apologise, but Downing Street defended the conduct, describing it as “totally legitimate”.
A spokesman for Number 10 said in the aftermath: “If you look back on what the Prime Minister was saying, there was a long list of U-turns that the leader of the opposition had been making.
“I don’t think those U-turns are a joke, it is quite serious changes in public policy. I think it is totally legitimate for the Prime Minister to point those out.”
Stonewall, a leading LGBTQ+ charity, urged the Prime Minister to apologise, saying: “For the Prime Minister to use trans people as a punchline, in front of the grieving mother of a trans child, was cheap, callous and crass.”
Has Rishi Sunak apologised?
Brianna’s father demanded an apology from Mr Sunak, after what he called “unacceptable” remarks.
“I feel the Prime Minister’s comments were unacceptable,” Peter Spooner told ITV News. “As the leader of our country, he should have a more sensitive approach.
“Regardless of this being a topic for Parliament, he has been dehumanising in his approach.”
An MP from within Mr Sunak’s own party reportedly urged he apologised while the Prime Minister was still in the chamber.
A serving Tory minister told i the Prime Minister’s comment was “awful”, while another senior party MP said it was “insane”.
The Tory Reform Group (TRG) of at least a dozen moderate MPs and 10 senior peers said: “This Government has got to stop using the trans community as a punchline at PMQs.
“We have consistently warned of this ‘othering’ of one of the most marginalised communities in the UK.
“We have seen recently what horrors some trans people have been subjected to.”
Other Tory ministers have doubled down on the comments with equalities minister Kemi Badenoch, saying it was shameful of “Starmer to link his own inability to be clear on the matter of sex and gender directly to her grief”.
She added: “Every murder is a tragedy. None should be trivialised by political point-scoring. As a mother, I can imagine the trauma that Esther Ghey has endured.”
Meanwhile, policing minister Chris Philp told ITV’s Good Morning Britain that the Prime Minister “would be very happy” to meet Brianna’s family, and that Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan wanted to speak to Ms Ghey about online safety.
Sir Starmer met with Brianna’s mother after PMQs, at her request. He vowed to “work with campaigners and parents like Esther to ensure our children and young people have the mental health support they need”.