Labour’s new Health Secretary today reversed his past statement that ‘trans women are women’ as he admitted he had changed his mind on the issue.
James Murray said he had thought ‘in quite some detail’ about his use of the phrase in the wake of a landmark Supreme Court ruling last year.
He also vowed to protect single-sex spaces in the NHS ‘on the basis of sex’ in his new role.
The Ealing North MP was named as Health Secretary last month following Wes Streeting’s resignation from Keir Starmer’s Cabinet.
In a past radio interview, in March 2022, Mr Murray had previously stated that ‘trans women are women’ in a debate about transgender participants in women’s sport.
But, speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, Mr Murray – a former Treasury minister – said he had since altered his stance.
‘Yeah, I have changed what I would say. I wouldn’t say that phrase any more,’ he said.
‘And I think that, you know, over the last few years, I think a lot of us, myself included, have thought about this question in quite some detail.’
In April last year, the Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex, meaning the sex of a person at birth.
James Murray said he had thought ‘in quite some detail’ about his use of the phrase ‘trans women are women’ in the wake of a landmark Supreme Court ruling last year
‘The Supreme Court has obviously ruled very clearly that biological sex is what matters when it comes to the Equality Act, and determining the importance of single-sex spaces,’ Mr Murray said.
The Health Secretary added: ‘I believe that single-sex spaces should be protected on the basis of sex, on the basis of biological sex.
‘Whilst at the same time believing in dignity for trans people, recognising that sex and gender are different things.
‘But being absolutely clear that single-sex spaces within the NHS, for instance, need to be protected on the basis of sex.’
Maya Forstater, CEO of sex-based rights charity Sex Matters, said: ‘It’s great to see that the new Health Secretary now understands he was wrong to unquestioningly repeat the slogan “trans women are women”.
‘He’s right that the Supreme Court was clear that when it comes to single-sex provision, they’re not, and that this matters in the NHS.
‘Now he needs to update NHS policies and language to match, such as trans-identifying staff being barred from opposite-sex toilets and changing rooms.
‘He must also rip up Annex B, which says single-sex wards must operate on the basis of “gender identity”, and restore sex-based language in patient information and records.’
The Government last month published long-awaited guidance drafted by Britain’s rights watchdog, which confirmed single-sex services must be on the basis of biological sex.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) guidance stated: ‘In separate or single-sex services, a trans man will be excluded from the men-only service because his sex is female, and a trans woman will be excluded from the women-only service because her sex is male.’
It covered a range of scenarios including hospital wards, which it said can lawfully exclude trans patients if wards are designated as single-sex.
The code of practice states that hospitals can choose to provide a single-sex ward ‘for women patients to protect their safety, privacy and dignity’.
If they do, it has to be on the basis of a patient’s biological sex.
Under current NHS guidance, trans patients can be accommodated on single-sex wards based on the gender they identify as.
When the code was published, just under two weeks ago, an NHS spokesman said: ‘Now that the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s statutory guidance has been laid in Parliament, we are reviewing it with the aim of publishing draft guidance for the health service shortly.’
