Rishi Sunak was coming under increasing fire for his contentious transgender joke on Thursday, with senior minister Penny Mordaunt aiming criticism at the prime minister.
His joke about transgender people, which he made on Wednesday while the family of murdered transgender teenager Brianna Ghey was in parliament, has drawn criticism from all political perspectives.
And Ms. Mordaunt took aim at the PM as a defiant Mr. Sunak refused to apologize to Brianna’s family for the remarks.
The Tory leader of the House of Commons, who was rumored to be Mr. Sunak’s potential successor, urged the prime minister to “reflect” on his transgender joke.
Despite a request by other ministers to rally around Mr. Sunak and demand that he apologize, her controversial intervention occurred.
Another day of disagreement over Mr. Sunak’s joke about “how to define a woman”:
- Emily Ghey, Brianna’s family, was invited by the prime minister to Downing Street to talk about online safety.
- He once again refused to apologize for the joke, claiming that it was “terrible and incorrect” that the Labour leader had associated Brianna with his remarks.
- Brianna’s father was advised by a minister to “actually listen” to what the prime minister had said.
- In response to Mr. Sunak’s remarks, Ms. Ghey broke her silence by emphasizing that her “focus is on bringing about a positive change and an enduring reputation for Brianna.”
On Wednesday, Mr. Sunak used PMQs to criticize Sir Keir for not being able to “define a woman” and claim that this was just one of many issues on which he had changed his mind.
The Tory leader was soon reprimanded by an enraged Labour leader. “Of all the days to say that, when Brianna’s mother is in this room,” he said. “Shame.”
Dehenna Davison, a former Tory minister, described it as “disappointing to see jokes being made at the transgender community’s expense.”
The prime minister was referred to as “an absolute disgrace” by Labour’s Jess Phillips.
Peter Spooner, Brianna’s parent, demanded an apology, stating that he was “disgusted” with Mr. Sunak, before labeling the remarks as “degrading” and “absolutely dehumanizing.”
However, Mr. Sunak changed his position on Thursday, telling reporters, “If you look at what I said, I was very clear, talking about Keir Starmer’s proven track record of turning on major policies because he doesn’t have a plan.”
Mr. Sunak unusually claimed that Sir Keir’s decision to abandon a flagship commitment to invest £28 billion in alternative energy “demonstrated the stage” he was making.
Chris Philp, the police minister, rushed to defend the prime minister and claimed that he had “no mention at all to any individual transgender people.”
“Anybody who is interested in this issue should really listen to the clip,” according to Mr. Philp, who accused Sir Keir of making the connection to Brianna.
Kemi Badenoch, the business secretary who also oversees the government’s equality plan, went even further, accusing the Labour leader of “trivializing” Brianna by “political point-scoring.”
“It was terrible of Starmer to instantly attribute his own inability to be clear about sex and gender to her grief,” she said in support of the PM’s remarks.
“We owe it to the people who sent us here to work every day to make them proud of us and this place,” Ms. Mordaunt told the House of Commons on Thursday.
“The prime minister is a good, compassionate person. He has undoubtedly thought about a variety of topics, not just Mr. and Mrs. Ghey, but I’m sure he is even thinking about transgender people or those who have trans loved ones and community, some of whom sit on these alternative benches.”
Ms. Ghey responded to the controversy on her Peace & Mind UK Facebook page by stating that her sole goal was to “create a positive change and an enduring reputation for Brianna.”
She continued, “We want to improve life by giving people the resources they need to develop mental resilience, compassion, and self-compassion through awareness through Peace & Mind.”
“I hope that by developing these skills, we can create a more knowledgeable, calm, and stronger community for all,” Ms. Ghey said.
Esther Ghey’s director responded to the Independent when asked if she would meet with the prime minister, saying that although nothing has been decided, she is open to meeting with all senior government officials in order to promote changes in child meditation and cellular phone safety.
Teens Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe stabbed Brianna to death in a Cheshire park in February of last year.
The judge stated during their imprisonment earlier this month that the “exceptionally terrible” murder had elements of both depravity on the part of Jenkinson and misogynistic hatred on Ratcliffe’s part.
