Rishi Sunak’s trans jibe branded ‘shameful’ as Keir Starmer meets with Brianna Ghey’s mother – latest

Keir Starmer has met with Brianna Ghey’s mother in a parliament after Rishi Sunak made a “crass” joke about trans people at PMQs.

The Labour leader met with Esther Ghey in parliament during a visit in which she watched PMQs.

Mr Starmer said: “I am utterly in awe of her strength and bravery in the face of such unimaginable grief, as she campaigns to make sure no parent has to go through what she did.

“Labour will work with campaigners and parents like Esther to ensure our children and young people have the mental health support they need. It’s what Brianna and her family deserve.”

Stonewall’s spokesperson said: “For the prime minister to use trans people as a punchline, in front of the grieving mother of a murdered trans child, was cheap, callous and crass.

“The disrespect and dehumanisation of trans people that we see played out daily in the media and in our political discourse has real life consequences and it has to stop.

“We call on the prime minister to apologise unreservedly for his comments, and for him to reflect on how careless words from those in power can and do result in harm’’

This is not the first time the prime minister has attacked Labour over the issue of gender identity policies, which have been a frequent subject of debate in Westminster in recent years.

LGBT campaigners have condemned some of the language used by politicians to discuss transgender people, with the issue often drawn into the so-called “culture war” by right-wingers.

In his Tory conference speech last year, Mr Sunak told Conservative delegates in Manchester “We shouldn’t get bullied into believing that people can be any sex they want to be.

“They can’t – a man is a man and a woman is a woman.”

A Labour spokeswoman called on Mr Sunak to apologise.

“We don’t think the country wants or deserves a prime minister that is happy to use minorities as a punchbag,” she said.

The prime minister also faced calls to apologise from Labour MP Liz Twist during the session but he did not directly respond to her call.

Concluding Prime Minister’s Questions, the PM said: “If I could just say also to Brianna Ghey’s mother who is here, as I said earlier this week, what happened was an unspeakable and shocking tragedy.

“As I said earlier this week, in the face of that, for her mother to demonstrate the compassion and empathy that she did last weekend, I thought demonstrated the very best of humanity in the face of seeing the very worst of humanity.

“She deserves all our admiration and praise for that.”

Rishi Sunak has refused to apologise for making a transgender joke in the Commons while the mother of murdered teenager Brianna Ghey was watching from the gallery, as Number 10 called the jibe at Labour “totally legitimate”.

Number 10 declined repeatedly to apologise for Mr Sunak’s language and said it was part of a “legitimate” criticism of Labour.

Senior Labour MP Jess Phillips has branded Rishi Sunak an “absolute disgrace” for making a jibe about trans people at PMQs.

She went on to describe the PM as a “deplorable man with no heart, no sense, no clue.”

“The sooner we are rid the better,” she added.

Rishi Sunak’s joke about trans people came just days before the first anniversary of Brianna’s murder.

The 16-year-old was lured to Culcheth Linear Park, Warrington on 11 February last year and stabbed repeatedly by Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, who were jailed for life last week after being found guilty of murder.

Jenkinson was sentenced to a minimum term of 22 years imprisonment while Ratcliffe got a minimum term of 20 years imprisonment.

The tone deaf remarks were in reference to Mr Starmer’s previous comments that “99.9 per cent of women do not have penises,” a comment that itself drew criticism.

Mr Starmer replied: “Of all the weeks to say that, when Brianna’s mother is in this chamber. Shame.”

The Labour leader added that the PM was “parading as a man of integrity when he has got absolutely no responsibility”, while shouts of shame ran up from the backbenches.