Exclusive: Equalities minister says Tories are ‘chasing Reform into the gutter’ as they drop support for planned law to ban ‘conversion therapy’
Kemi Badenoch has “no interest in supporting LGBT+ people” or promoting tolerance more widely, a government minister has said, after the Conservatives dropped support for a planned law to ban so-called “conversion therapy”.
The comments by Bridget Phillipson, the equalities minister, come after the Tories removed their previous backing for a law targeting abusive practices that aim to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Badenoch’s party say this is because of concerns about the scope of the bill, particularly the way it deals with gender identity.
The draft conversion practices bill, which was published in June and is now open for consultation, sets out potential jail sentences of up to five years for attempts to change someone’s sexuality or gender identity which are abusive and cause serious harm.
Asked about the bill last week, Badenoch said it would “mean that parents start getting arrested for parenting their children”, agreeing with a question by a journalist who said this could happen if parents refuse to let their child identify as a cat.
Government officials argue that this is not possible, given that the bill sets a high threshold for an offence, involving both abuse and serious harm as…
