Theresa May has called on Boris Johnson to ban transgender conversion practices as part of proposed legislation.
Writing in the i paper to mark the 50th anniversary of the UK’s first Pride, the former Conservative prime minister said: “Few people who read the stories of trans people would disagree that they still face humiliation and prejudice , when they deserve understanding and respect.
“We must strive for greater understanding on both sides of the debate. Just because an issue is controversial doesn’t mean we can avoid addressing it.
“To this end, the government must honor its commitment to look into the issue of transgender conversion therapy.
“If this is not in the forthcoming bill, then the issue should not be allowed to slide.”
Her comments follow an initial move in late March by the Prime Minister to abandon plans to ban all conversion practices. However, within hours of the backlash, the government made a U-turn.
Ministers later outlined legislation – the Conversion Therapy Bill – in the Queen’s Speech that would ban conversion practices designed to change someone’s sexual orientation in certain scenarios.
But it said that because of the “complexity of the issues and the need for further careful consideration”, the legislation would not ban transgender conversion practices.
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In her newspaper article, May said she regretted her past opposition to LGBT equality after voting against lowering the age of consent for homosexual acts in 1998 and against repealing Section 28 in 2002.
She said that 50 years after campaigners were subjected to abuse and ridicule, “we can be proud of how much and how profoundly attitudes have changed”.
She added: “I include myself in that – looking back now, there are issues I would vote differently on if I were voting on them today.”
But May’s statement comes after Scottish Conservative MP Jamie Green this week criticized the government for excluding transgender people from the proposed ban, calling the move “indefensible”.
Green said: “Firstly, I’m not a member of the UK government – I want to make that clear – and it’s not my job to defend the indefensible.”
He told PinkNews: “We have made a commitment to the LGBTQ+ community that we will ban conversion therapy. We must deliver on this promise and the Scottish Government must do exactly the same.
“We need to do it here, we need to do it in Westminster, we need to do it in Wales, we need to do it in Northern Ireland.”
Johnson, who also writes for the paper, said it gives him “the greatest pride to lead a country where you can love whoever you choose to love.”
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