Afternoon summary
Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, has told an American audience that she does not know why their country went to war against Iran. (See 16.32pm.) She was speaking at an event in Washington hours after Keir Starmer told PMQs that he would not alter his stance on the war, despite President Trump threatening to rip up the US-UK trade deal because of what he perceives as the lack of support he has received from Britain. (See 12.19pm.). Starmer said:
I’m not going to change my mind. I’m not going to yield. It is not in our national interest to join this war, and we will not do so.
For a full list of all the stories covered on the blog today, do scroll through the list of key event headlines near the top of the blog.
Campaigners quietly confident single-sex spaces guidance not watered down
Campaigners who won a legal case in the UK’s highest court on the definition of a woman said they are “quietly confident” long-awaited guidance on single-sex spaces has not been watered down, the Press Association reports. PA says:
For Women Scotland (FWS), who celebrated a landmark legal victory a year ago, described their meeting with women and equalities minister Bridget Phillipson today as “positive”.
The campaigners pressed for detail on changes made to draft guidance and what date they expected it to be published ahead of parliamentary scrutiny.
The updated draft code of practice – aimed at guiding businesses and other organisations on provision of single and separate-sex services such as toilets and changing rooms – had been handed to ministers by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) last September.
Despite having been described by the watchdog’s chair as “legally sound”, the government gave “feedback” and it was confirmed this week that some changes have been made to the earlier version.
FWS director Susan Smith told PA they had been “a little nervous” amid reports about it having been toned down, but – while they were not given specifics of the changes that had been made – they understood this included adding more examples for service providers on how to implement the updated code.
She told PA: “I don’t think the guidance can be watered down in the sense that whatever the EHRC comes up with has to adhere closely to the supreme court’s ruling.
In an interview on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour this morning, Wes Streeting said that the new guidance could not be published until after the elections in May because it covered the whole of the UK and purdah rules for the Scottish and Welsh parliamentary elections meant it could not be published now.
Asked why it had taken so long, he said:
On one level, this is really simple. Sex matters, biology is immutable, and the women who have not been heard in terms of their rights, voices and spaces are now not only being listened to but have been vindicated in law.
Some of the complexity arises especially when thinking about the protection of women’s spaces on the basis of sex, where that then presents some practical challenges in also making sure that we protect the rights and the dignity and the safety of trans people …
If we have got someone who is biologically female but a trans man, looks, sounds, acts, presents like a man, placing him in a women’s ward would be degrading, distressing, humiliating for him, and would also be of enormous concern to women.
So we have to make sure that there are appropriate spaces for him to be treated, in an appropriate space that protects his rights and dignity as well.
And right across public sector and workplaces, across the land, that has got to work in practice, not just in principle. And that’s where some of the complexity has arisen.
