Rishi Sunak provoked outrage by joking about the “definition of a woman” in the Commons as murdered trans teenager Brianna Ghey’s mother visited parliament.
The prime minister clashed with Keir Starmer over the continuing trans debate at PMQs as Esther Ghey was due to appear in the public gallery and just four days after her 16-year-old daughter’s killers were jailed for life.
Mr Sunak accused the opposition leader of being incapable of “defining a woman” and that it was one of a number of issues on which he had performed a U-turn.
But his jibe prompted howls of protest from MPs, who accused him of a “cruel” joke, “shameful” behaviour and using minorities as a punchline.
After the heated clashes Labour called on Mr Sunak to apologise but Downing St defended his conduct, describing it as “legitimate”.
The row deepened further when the business secretary Kemi Badenoch accused Labour of weaponising the issue for their own political ends.
The incident is bound to be used by Mr Sunak’s critics as further evidence that he is tin eared – an allegation rejected by his allies.
The clash came as Mr Sunak accused the Labour leader of breaking pledges he was elected on, adding that that Mr Starmer had U-turned on “defining a woman, although, in fairness, that was only 99 per cent of a U-turn.”
The tone deaf remarks were in reference to Mr Starmer’s previous comments that “99.9 per cent of women do not have penises”.
An angry Mr Starmer immediately admonished the Tory leader. He said: “Of all the weeks to say that, when Brianna’s mother is in this chamber. Shame.”
He accused the PM of “parading as a man of integrity when he has got absolutely no responsibility”, while shouts of “shame” rang out from the backbenches.
He added: “I think the role of the prime minister is to make sure that every single citizen in this country feels safe and respected, and it’s a shame the prime minister doesn’t share that”.
It later emerged that Brianna’s mother had not been in the Commons chamber when Mr Starmer and Mr Sunak crossed swords. although both men were under the impression she was.
She arrived soon afterwards, however.
The blunder is the latest in a series of political missteps from the PM. He was criticised for betting Piers Morgan £1,000 that deportation flights to Rwanda would take off, and for an embarrassing moment when he laughed as a mother pleaded with him to cut NHS waiting lists for her daughter.
Mr Starmer immediately admonished the Tory leader for the remarks. He said: “Of all the weeks to say that, when Brianna’s mother is in this chamber. Shame.”
Mr Sunak did not apologise for his jibe, although at the end of PMQs he did address Ms Ghey to praise her “compassion and empathy”, reiterating that he thought she “demonstrated the very best of humanity in the face of seeing the very worst of humanity”.
Tory MP Jamie Wallis, the UK’s first trans MP, said Mr Sunak had been insensitive: “I know from from my own interactions with the Prime Minister that today’s display of insensitivity must have been inadvertent, Today has been a tough day for me, but all I can think about right now is Brianna’s mother. Let us all think of her as we choose how to progress with this debate.”
One former Conservative minister said they were appalled.
Tory backbencher Dehenna Davidson said it was “disappointing to hear jokes being made at the trans community’s expense. Our words… resonate right across our society, and we all need to remember that.”Labour party chair Anneliese Dodds said it was not the first time the PM had “used LGBT+ people as a punchline to a cruel joke”. But she described his latest jibe as a “shameful new low”.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was criticised during PMQs (House of Commons/PA)
