ory leadership contender Penny Mordaunt has hit back at new claims that she supported gender self-identification when she was minister of equality in government.
In the first televised debate on Friday, the former minister of Equals said Kemi Badenoch and Minister of Foreign Affairs Liz Trusswho is also responsible for equality issues, claimed that Ms. Mordaunt was in favor of self-ID for those wanting to switch.
They said they had reversed the policy together.
Ms Mordaunt has vehemently contested the claims. She said that while she had ordered a revision of the gender recognition law, she was not in favor of self-identification and “wouldn’t have separated it from health care”.
However The Sunday Times said it had seen government papers that seemed to suggest she was in favor of removing at least one element of the medical process necessary for transgender people to transition legally.
It said another document from February 2020 confirmed the government’s support for self-identification ended after she was replaced as the responsible minister.
In response, a spokesperson for her campaign said the papers seen by The Sunday Times made it clear that all ministers involved at the time were in favor of maintaining medical involvement in the process.
“The fact that so much of this competition has been distracted by side issues rather than by the cost of living crisis affecting millions of people is a major disappointment,” the spokesperson said.
“Arguing about policy is one thing, but questioning Penny’s values and integrity must be challenged. To be clear, on the issue of self-ID, leaked documents prove that all ministers of the department of medical involvement wanted to keep, including Penny. Other ministers can support this.”
Mrs. Mordaunt was supported by Baroness Williamswho was a junior equality minister at the time, and said the reports of events given on the hustings and in the media were “completely inaccurate”.
“As the Secretary of State for Equality in the Department under both Penny Mordaunt and Amber Rudd, I saw firsthand that the position referred to was by no means Penny Mordaunt’s and I fully refuted other candidates’ accusations of the self-ID debate,” she said in a statement.
“After years of serving with the Equal Opportunities Agency, I am shocked to see such inaccurate reporting and briefings by our colleagues and would question the motives of those who want to do this.”
The Sunday Times published details of a note from a senior official sent to Ms Mordaunt and other senior officials of the Government Equalities Office (GEO) in July 2019.
At the time, Ms Mordaunt was Minister of Defence, but also responsible for women’s and equality issues.
The note stated: “Currently, applicants are required to provide two medical reports: a diagnosis of gender dysphoria (which we now intend to remove) and a report detailing all medical treatments received.
“There is no requirement to have undergone medical treatment as part of the transition, nor does the contents of the report influence the panel’s decision, so it is unclear what practical value this current report has in the context of the transition. process.
“However, this part of the process gets to the heart of whether we have a system that is essentially self-identification, or whether there are external controls.”
The note went on to state that “all of you have indicated that you want some form of medical requirement to remain part of the process – specifically a form of assessment that the applicant is ‘sound of mind’ while they are completing their application.” submit to change their gender.
“That can be from a general practitioner, a registered care provider or a therapist. This would help protect vulnerable individuals and would also provide a defense against potentially nasty applications.”