Keir Starmer says trans ruling must be enacted ‘as soon as possible'

Times

3 hours ago

Hospitals and government departments refusing to implement the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman must do it 'as soon as possible', Sir Keir Starmer has said, as public bodies continue to defy the law.
The prime minister said guidance on how to interpret the court's decision must be 'consistent with the ruling', after reports civil servants and some public bodies were attempting to ignore the judgment that the definition of a woman was to be based on biological sex.
The prime minister told reporters he 'accepted the ruling; welcomed the ruling, and everything else flows from that as far as I'm concerned'.
He said: 'All guidance of whatever kind needs to be consistent with the ruling and we need to get to that position as soon as possible.'
Every organisation in Britain was told to revisit their equality policies after the country's highest court ruled that transgender women were not legally women in reference to the Equality Act in April.
However, The Times revealed last month that Whitehall was refusing to implement single-sex spaces in government departments until the equality regulator intervenes. Human resources and staff networks have advised civil servants that the policies remain in effect while they are under review, despite many advising that transgender people are able to use whichever facilities they feel most comfortable with.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is drawing up new guidance that will help public bodies and organisations implement the ruling. The regulator said the guidelines should only be seen as a tool to implement the law and the Supreme Court's judgment 'is effective immediately'.
The Times also reported that hospital managers ignored official guidance and said that policies would not change until NHS England responded to the ruling.
Maya Forstater, the chief executive of Sex Matters, said: 'This is an important intervention from the prime minister, given the huge number of public bodies failing to implement the Supreme Court judgment and operating outside the law. Political leadership is essential if women whose rights are being stolen are not to be forced to turn to the courts, where public bodies will end up losing, at great expense to taxpayers.
'It's no coincidence that the private sector has been faster to bring their policies in line with the judgment, recognising what is at stake for the bottom line. Meanwhile most NHS, university and civil service leaders are sitting on their hands.
'The law is clear and there is no need to wait for further guidance from the EHRC or anyone else. Unlike the small businesses and services for which the regulator's guidance is intended, public sector organisations have access to specialist legal advice, as well as extra statutory obligations under the public sector equality duty.'