Rishi Sunak is facing mounting backlash over his controversial trans joke, with senior minister Penny Mordaunt taking aim at the prime minister.
Murdered transgender teenager Brianna Ghey’s mockery of transgender people during PMQs, while her mother was visiting parliament, was condemned across the political spectrum.
And while Mr Sunak went against his grain and refused to apologize to Brianna’s family, Ms Mordaunt dramatically intervened in the fight.
The House of Commons leader, who has been tipped as a potential successor to Mr Sunak as party leader, called on the prime minister to “think” about the trans row.
His incendiary remarks contrasted with offers from other ministers to rally around Mr Sunak as the anger around the remarks refused to abate.
On another day when there were discussions about Mr. Sunak’s comment on “how to define a woman”:
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Prime Minister invites Brianna’s mother Esther Ghey to Downing Street to discuss online security
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He again refused to apologize for the joke, saying it was “sad and wrong” for the Labor leader to attribute his comments to Brianna.
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Brianna’s father should ‘really listen’ to what the PM is saying, a minister has suggested
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Ms. Ghey broke her silence, emphasizing that “the focus is on creating positive change and a lasting legacy for Brianna.”
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Gordon Brown weighed in, saying he once took action when he referred to an electorate as a bigot, adding: “I’ve made mistakes… but I’ve apologized and I think that’s a lesson all prime ministers should follow.”
The row erupted on Wednesday when Mr Sunak accused Sir Keir in the House of Commons of failing to “define a woman” and said it was one of many issues on which he had changed his mind.
An angry Labor leader quickly warned the Conservative leader. He said: “There are so many weeks I could say this with Brianna’s mother in this room. Shame.”
Former Conservative minister Dehenna Davison said it was “disappointing to hear jokes being made against the trans community”, while Labour’s Jess Phillips called the prime minister “an absolute disgrace”.
Brianna’s father Peter Spooner demanded an apology, saying he was disgusted by Mr Sunak and later described the comments as “insulting” and “absolutely dehumanizing”.
But Mr Sunak told reporters on Thursday: “If you look at what I said, I was very clear when I talked about Keir Starmer’s proven track record of U-turns on major policies because he doesn’t have a plan.”
Mr Sunak said Sir Keir’s plan to abandon his flagship pledge to spend £28bn a year on green energy showed what he meant.
Also rushing to defend the Prime Minister, police minister Chris Philp said he was “not talking about any transgender people”.
Mr Philp accused Sir Keir of contacting Brianna and said: “Anyone interested in this should actually listen to the clip; “Listen to the first conversation.”
Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch, who also oversees the government’s equality policy, went further and accused the Labor leader of “trivializing” Brianna’s murder by “making political points”.
He backed up the Prime Minister’s comments, saying: “It was a shame that Starmer directly attributed his failure to be clear about sex and gender to her upset.”
But taking a break from her colleagues, Ms Mordaunt told the House of Commons: “Whatever the ruggedness and ruins of this place, whatever the pressures and risks that arise in the heat of political struggle, we owe it to the people who sent it to us. We owe it to them to be proud of us and of this place.” We are here to strive for you every day.
“The Prime Minister is a good and caring person. I’m sure he’s thought about things… it’s not just about Mr and Mrs Ghey, but I’m sure he’s thought about people who are trans or have trans loved ones and families. There are people sitting on these green benches.”
Sir Keir insisted Mr Sunak must apologize and denied making the gaffe to score political points: “The idea that I am responsible for Rishi’s comments at the PMQs comes from the mirror. I mentioned Brianna at the beginning because I wanted everyone to know that she, Esther, was there.
“I didn’t think he would approach such a comment knowing the Prime Minister was there. I really didn’t.
Responding on the Peace & Mind UK Facebook page, Ms Ghey said her focus was solely on “creating positive change and a lasting legacy for Brianna”.
“Through Peace and Mind, we want to improve people’s lives by empowering them, giving them the tools they need to develop mental resilience, empathy and self-compassion through mindfulness,” she added.
“I hope that by developing these skills we can create a more understanding, peaceful and stronger society for everyone.”
Asked if Ms Ghey would meet the prime minister, her spokesman said: Independent: “Nothing has been determined yet, but Esther would certainly be open to meeting with any relevant senior government officials to help make changes to awareness in schools and mobile phone safety for children.”
Brianna was stabbed to death by teenagers Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe in a Cheshire park last February.
At sentencing earlier this month, the judge said the “extraordinarily brutal” murder contained elements of both sadism on Jenkinson’s part and transphobic hatred on Ratcliffe’s part.