Labour-controlled Commons committee accused of having 'trans-agenda' after holding a 'biased and partial' hearing into safety and effectiveness of puberty blockers
A powerful Labour-controlled Commons committee was last night accused of having a ‘trans-activist agenda’ and attempting to persuade ministers to axe a ban on puberty blocker drugs.
The women and equalities committee (WEC), which has a Labour majority of seven MPs, has been lambasted for holding a ‘biased and partial’ hearing into the safety and effectiveness of the controversial drugs.
Blockers pause the physical changes of puberty and were prescribed to children questioning their gender.
But their use for under-18s suffering gender dysphoria was banned last year after a landmark report by paediatric consultant Dr Hilary Cass found a lack of evidence that they were safe or effective and warned they may permanently damage fertility and brain development.
The WEC last week heard evidence from a panel that included Professor Gary Butler, former clinical lead for the only NHS children’s gender clinic in England and Wales, who was responsible for prescribing the drug.
It also heard from Professor Simona Giordana from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, a US group that critics claim ‘promotes the experimental affirmative approach to children with gender distress’.
But they did not call Dr Cass, whose four-year review led to the closure of the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), where Professor Butler worked. During the hearing, Professor Butler claimed hundreds of young patients had been prescribed puberty blockers without ill effects.
Dr Cass’s review is clear that the outcomes of those treated with the drugs since 2011 are unknown due to poor records and a lack of follow-up.
Tax expert Maya Forstater, who lost out on a job after saying people cannot change their biological sex, was awarded £100,000 compensation by an employment tribunal
Retired consultant paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass speaking about the publication of the Independent Review of Gender Identity Services for Children and Young People - a landmark study into transgender treatment in the UK
Shelley Charlesworth, of Transgender Trend, one of the first groups to raise concerns about puberty blockers, said it was ‘alarming’ that Professor Butler was on the panel.
Maya Forstater at charity Sex Matters said the WEC ‘has no mandate to hold any sort of hearing on the medical evidence concerning puberty blockers – let alone such a biased and partial one’.
She added: ‘The Cass Review took four years and set the global gold standard; two hours of inexpert questioning by non-specialists who appeared to have a trans-activist agenda can’t begin to compare.
'It’s hard to understand the political motives behind this meeting and the choice of witnesses.’
Baroness Anne Jenkin, a Tory member of the House of Lords, said the WEC hearing was ‘clearly political’, adding: ‘It looks as if they have got a predetermined political agenda to try to persuade the Government to drop the ban on puberty blockers.’
Rosie Duffield, an independent MP on the committee, said she was ‘unclear’ why it held the hearing.
