After the primary chancellor, Rishi Sunak, made a jibe about transgender people shortly after learning that Brianna’s family was watching him in the House of Commons, the father of the girl who was killed, Bryan Ghey, has demanded Sunak apologize.
Following the exchanges, Brianna’s parents, Peter Spooner, referred to Sunak as “completely dehumanizing” in response to queries from the prime minister.
He told Sky News, “For the prime minister of our nation to come out with demeaning remarks like he did, regardless of whether they were related to conversations in congress, they are completely dehumanizing.” “Identities of people shouldn’t be used in that way, and I personally find his comments shocking and believe he should apologize for them.”
After being informed by Keir Starmer that Esther Ghey was in the public gallery, Sunak continued to push forward with an apparent premeditated attack collection about transgender people, drawing criticism from a number of Conservative MPs for his callousness.
The prime minister listed what he deemed to be broken Labour promises, saying, “I believe I counted about 30 in the last year: retirement, planning, knighthoods, public sector pay, tuition fees, care, and defining a woman—though in justice, that was only 99% of a U-turn.”
A number of MPs responded angrily to the final example, which appeared to be a reference to Starmer’s assertion that “99.9%” of women do not have penises.
“Of all the days to state that, when Brianna’s mother is in the chamber,” Starmer retorted, evidently furious. “Shame. Posing as a man of integrity when he has no scruples whatsoever?”
Emily Ghey represented “the very best of society in the face of seeing the very worst of mankind, and she deserves all our enthusiasm and praise,” according to Sunak, who disregarded many requests from Commons MPs for an apology.
No. 10 defended his remarks by claiming that the opposition’s use of U-turns was “legitimate.”
It is understood that Sunak made the remarks after being informed that Ghey was present, but she actually arrived in the room a little late and missed their initial conversation.
In February of last year, Brianna, 16, was lured to a garden in Cheshire and killed. Eddie Ratcliffe and Scarlett Jenkinson, both 16, were sentenced to prison terms of at least 22 and 20 years, respectively, next Friday. It was discovered that Ratcliffe was partially motivated by animosity toward Brianna’s trans identity.
Eventually, it was discovered that No. 10 was attempting to set up a meeting between Sunak and Brianna’s family to talk about online safety among younger people, one of many issues raised by her murder.
While some colleagues jumped to Sunak’s defense—the business secretary, Kemi Badenoch, tweeted that it was “shameful of Starmer to link his own inability to be clear on the matter of sex and gender directly to her grief”—a number of Tory MPs voiced unease.
While advocating for balancing trans rights with the security of single-sex areas, former chancellor Jackie Doyle-Price claimed that Sunak’s remark “trivializes something very important” and was “frankly very ill-judged.”
She remarked to Times Radio, “I suspect he doesn’t think about it that way because it’s being given to him as a line,” she said. “This simply brings it to its lowest point because, as you may know, boys enjoy discussing penises.”
Another former chancellor, Dehenna Davison, added in a tweet that it was “disappointing to hear jokes being made at the transgender community’s expense,” adding, “Our words in the house resonate right across our nation, and we all need to consider that.”
“This need for respect feels more important than ever,” she wrote, “given some of the horrible stigmatization incidents we have seen recently.”
The first formally transgender MP in the UK, Jamie Wallis, a Conservative backbencher, expressed dissatisfaction with Sunak’s remarks in 2022.
“I know from my own relations with the prime minister that today’s outburst of indifference must have been unintentional,” he said in a statement. “I’ve had a difficult time, but right now, all I can think about is Brianna’s family. Let’s all consider her as we decide how to move this discussion along.”
While Downing Street clearly hopes the argument will end, it has the potential to cause more problems, as evidenced by the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, having some uncomfortable conversations during TV interviews that were meant to be used to analyze Labour’s green prosperity strategy.
The governor refused to answer questions about whether the prime minister should apologize after being repeatedly questioned about why Sunak had made a joke about trans individuals. He told the BBC that this was “taking these comments out of context.”
“We don’t believe that the nation wants or deserves a prime minister who enjoys using minorities as punchbags,” according to a Labour spokesperson. “He should reevaluate his reply and apologize because the comments were extremely offensive to transgender people.”
Following PMQs, Starmer met with Esther Ghey in the legislature. Eventually, he tweeted, “I am completely in awe of her courage and strength in the face of such unfathomable anguish, as she campaigns to ensure that no family has to go through what she did.”
Sunak and his ministers frequently criticize Labour’s stance on trans rights. The group changed its stance on a self-identification program last year, which would have allowed people to formally change their gender without receiving medical attention.
