Leaked WhatsApp messages have exposed Labour ministers’ fury, and secret plans to flout a Supreme Court ruling on single-sex spaces. The Mail has the story.
The Government claimed to welcome the Supreme Court judgment – but the exchanges reveal the private fury on Sir Keir Starmer’s frontbench, with ministers planning to hold a meeting this week to “decide a way forwards” and “organise”.
In the messages, sent on Thursday evening, Culture Minister Sir Chris Bryant joined an attack on Baroness Falkner, chairwoman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), who earlier that day had said that the ruling – that a woman is defined by biological sex – clearly meant trans women could not use single-sex female facilities or compete in women’s sports.
When an MP said that Lady Falkner’s words were “pretty appalling”, Mr Bryant wrote: “Agreeed [sic].”
Last night, with the Government in turmoil, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch wrote to the Cabinet Secretary calling for an investigation into a statement by Equalities Minister Bridget Phillipson, who reacted to the judgment by saying: “We have always supported the protection of single sex spaces based on biological sex.”
In her letter to Sir Chris Wormald, who is also the Head of the Civil Service, Ms Badenoch argued that it could constitute a “false public statement” – because last June, Ms Phillipson declared that trans women with penises should be able to use single-sex spaces.
Writing on the WhatsApp group of LGBT+ Labour MPs, Home Office Minister Dame Angela Eagle said: “The ruling is not as catastrophic as it seems but the EHRC guidance might be and there are already signs that some public bodies are overreacting” – a possible reference to the British Transport Police’s interim announcement that strip searches of trans women would now be done by male officers, not female.
Dame Angela added that “we have to get on with doing the stuff we said we’d do in the manifesto”, which included a pledge to protect “the freedom for people to explore their sexual orientation and gender identity”.
Another MP on the WhatsApp group wrote that it was “sad to see some institutions choose to ignore the Supreme Court’s very strong line that trans people are protected by the Equality Act too”. Dame Angela replied: “They won’t be feeling that way now and we need to remember that and organise.”
MPs agreed with her suggestion that they should seek a meeting “ASAP with [the] relevant Equality Minister” after the Commons returns from Easter recess this week
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