Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has again come under fire for the remarks he made in the House of Commons about transgender people.
The prime minister was addressing the House during an exchange with Labour Party leader Keir Starmer when he jibed the latter for his stance on gender identity.
"It's a bit rich to hear about promises from someone who's broken every single promise since he was elected," Sunak told the Commons. "Pensions, planning, peerages, public sector pay, tuition fees, childcare, second referendums, defining a woman - although in fairness that was only 99% of a U-turn".
It also needs to be noted that Sunak made the remarks on the same day the mother of murdered transgender teenager Brianna Ghey attended Parliament.
Esther Ghey was meeting lawmakers to campaign for young people to be blocked from accessing social media platforms on their phones. Brianna was stabbed 28 times at a park in Cheshire by two teenagers last year in February.
The culprits, Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe were given at least 22 and 20-year jail terms last Friday. It is being reported that Ratcliffe was motivated by his hostility towards Brianna's transgender identity.
#PMQs
— Carol Vorderman (@carolvorders) February 7, 2024
Rishi Sunak should resign
When Brianna Ghey's mother is watching in the House of Commons
Sunak mocks Transgender people
"He (Starmer) can't even define a woman, although that was only 99% of a U-turn"
The Tories laugh like a pack of hyenas
pic.twitter.com/59xi0K8Has
Conservative MPs have slammed Sunak for making the remarks even after being told by Starmer that Esther was present in the gallery.
According to local media reports, Esther was not present when Sunak made the remarks but was in the Commons public gallery when opposition leaders demanded an apology from Sunak.
"Of all the weeks to say that, when Brianna's mother is in the chamber. Shame. Parading as a man of integrity, when he's got absolutely no responsibility," said a visibly angry Starmer.
Brianna's father, Peter Spooner, has called for an apology from the prime minister while describing his remarks as "degrading" and "absolutely dehumanising".
"As the prime minister for our country to come out with degrading comments like he did, regardless of them being in relation to discussions in parliament, they are absolutely dehumanising. Identities of people should not be used in that manner, and I personally feel shocked by his comments and feel he should apologise for his remarks," he told Sky News.
Meanwhile, the prime minister's office has refused to issue an apology, saying that it was "legitimate" to point out Mr Starmer's "U-turns".
Last year, Sunak courted controversy after a video of him mocking one of his opponents for supporting trans rights went viral on social media.
The video sourced by Pink News showed the prime minister mocking Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey by making jokes about "women having penises".
The remarks were made during a speech at a party with the 1922 Committee on June 5, 2023. The meeting was attended by Veteran's Affairs Minister Johnny Mercer, Philip Hollobone, MP for Kettering, and Desmond Swain, MP for New Forest West, among others.
In the leaked video, he could be heard saying: "It shows his spectacular misjudgement and why he's completely unfit to lead our country." It is not clear who he was referring to here.
"Over the same period of time, you might have noticed Ed Davey has been very busy," Sunak continues. "Like me, you can probably see that he was trying to convince everybody that women clearly had penises.
"You'll all know that I'm a big fan of everybody studying maths to 18, but it turns out that we need to focus on biology." The video was widely shared on various social media platforms, with people demanding an apology from the prime minister.
In January 2023, Sunak's government blocked a gender law proposed by the Scottish Parliament. The law allowed transgender people to change their gender without providing a medical diagnosis. The UK government vetoed it, stating that it violates national equality laws.
