The Government’s landmark international LGBT+ conference, due to take place in June, has been cancelled, according to reports.
The cancellation comes after Iain Anderson, the UK’s LGBT+ business champion, resigned earlier on Tuesday over the Government’s “profoundly shocking” position which could see trans people not included in an eventual ban on conversion therapy.
Mr Anderson is the latest in a series of high-profile individuals and groups to hit out at the Government, with at least 100 organisations pulling out of the Safe To Be Me conference.
It had been planned to take place in London from June 29.
More than 80 LGBT+ groups and over 20 HIV groups had pledged to boycott global conference unless Boris Johnson would keep a pledge for a trans-inclusive ban on conversion therapy.
Reacting to the event’s cancellation, Conservative MP Dehenna Davison tweeted: “We had such a huge opportunity to prove the UK (and the Conservative Party) is a defender of freedom.
“As a Conservative member of the LGBT+ community, it is so wrong it has come to this."
Consortium, an umbrella body for LGBT+ organisations, said it was a “sad day” but the blame for what happened lay solely with Downing Street.
“The implications of the international LGBT conference being cancelled is solely at the doorstep of No 10," it said in a statement.
“LGBT+ organisations were left with no choice but to withdraw any support in order to stand in solidarity and partnership with our trans communities.
“This is a sad day but one where we must begin to change the narrative and look to build a country where every person can feel safe and live a life with dignity and respect.”
There was no immediate comment from Downing Street or from the Government Equalities Office regarding the decision, reported PA.
Last week, it was initially announced that ministers were scrapping plans to ban conversion therapy, sparking a furious backlash.
However, within hours the Prime Minister was said to have “changed his mind” and a senior Government source was quoted as saying legislation would be introduced.
However, ministers claimed separate work was required to “consider the issue of transgender conversion therapy further”.
This prompted a mass boycott of the Safe To Be Me conference by LGBT+ groups in protest.
Religious leaders including the former archbishop of Canterbury also wrote to Mr Johnson urging him to include trans people in a ban on conversion therapy.
Jamie Wallis, a Conservative MP who last week came out as trans also criticised ministers’ plans to not include trans people in a conversion therapy ban.
He said it was "wrong to exclude protections for a whole group of people from a practice described as ‘abhorrent"’.
