Rishi Sunak, the UK Prime Minister, is under pressure to apologise after making a joke about the Labour party’s stance on transgender issues while the mother of murdered transgender teenager Brianna Ghey was present in Parliament. During a session of Prime Minister’s Questions, Sunak mocked Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer for his shifting position on defining gender.
Brianna’s father, Peter Spooner, has joined those demanding an apology, describing Sunak’s comments as “degrading” and “dehumanising”. Brianna’s family has been invited to a meeting about online safety with Sunak and Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan.
During the parliamentary session, Sunak highlighted what he saw as a series of Labour policy reversals, including Starmer’s position on defining gender. Starmer retorted that it was inappropriate for Sunak to make such comments while Brianna’s mother was in the chamber.
Sunak later declined to apologise when asked to do so by Labour MP Liz Twist. However, he did express his respect for Ms Ghey and described her daughter’s murder as an “unspeakable and shocking tragedy”.
A spokesperson for Starmer criticised Sunak for using minority groups as targets for jokes, calling his comments “deeply offensive to trans people”.
Kemi Badenoch, Minister for Women and Equalities, accused Starmer of exploiting Ms Ghey’s grief for political purposes. Some Conservative MPs also criticised Sunak’s comments, including Dehenna Davison and Jamie Wallis, the first MP to publicly disclose that he is transitioning.
Brianna Ghey was murdered by two teenagers who were fascinated with violence. Her mother was in Parliament to attend a debate on mindfulness in schools and met with Starman after the session.
