Experts ‘would refuse to take part’ in mandatory castration for sex offenders

One expert says compulsory medication could make some offenders more likely to commit other crimes. Photograph: Simon Price/Alamy

Leading experts on the use of chemical castration for managing sexual offenders have said they would refuse to be part of any programme in the UK that makes the intervention compulsory.

Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, confirmed in the Commons on Thursday that she was examining whether she could force offenders, including paedophiles, to take pills or injections to suppress “problematic sexual arousal”.