London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Conversion therapy ban: Over 80 LGBT groups quit government conference

Conversion therapy ban: Over 80 LGBT groups quit government conference

More than 100 organisations have pulled out of the UK's first ever global LGBT+ conference over the government's stance on conversion therapy.

The UK government had promised to ban conversion therapy but last week decided to exclude conversion therapy for transgender people in the ban.

Groups are now withdrawing from the government's Safe To Be Me conference.

The government says it is going to look into how it can ban trans conversion therapy.

The BBC understands the conference may even be scrapped all together, with a decision on the future of the conference to be made this week.

According to NHS England, conversion therapy tries to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity.

The government's three-day Safe To Be Me conference was due to be held this summer to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the first ever London Pride marches.

It was set to be the biggest event of its kind, and was seen by many in government as a way for the Government Equalities Office - part of the government which oversees LGBT equality - to "double down" on its commitment to LGBT rights.

But the LGBT+ Consortium, an umbrella body for LGBT+ community organisations, has issued a statement branding the government's U-turn on conversion therapy "abhorrent".

Eighty-two member organisations of the consortium have signed an open letter, which is written by LGBT+ charity and campaign group Stonewall, pulling out of the conference.

It says they will only participate in the conference if Prime Minister Boris Johnson reverts to his promise to include transgender people in any legislation against conversion therapy.

"This is a decision we take with a heavy heart. As the UK's first global LGBT+ conference, Safe To Be Me should be a moment for redoubling efforts globally to improve LGBTQ+ people's rights and experiences," it said.

"This is why we have worked hard with government and civil society organisations over the last few months to try to make the conference work."

The Terrence Higgins Trust and 22 other HIV charities and organisations have also since joined the boycott, meaning a total of 105 organisations have now pulled out.

A Terrence Higgins Trust spokesperson said: "Trans rights are human rights - progress without or at the expense of trans people is not progress. We stand together and will not be divided.

"As HIV charities and community groups we stand in solidarity with Stonewall and the whole LGBT+ sector and will not be supporting or attending the upcoming global LGBT+ 'Safe To Be Me' conference unless the government reverts to their promise of a trans-inclusive ban."

Boris Johnson has previously called the practice of conversion therapy "repulsive and abhorrent" and had promised plans to outlaw it on a number of separate occasions.

However the plans to do so have since changed; meaning the legislation will mean conversion therapy to attempt to change people's sexuality will be outlawed, but those practices carried out to try to change people's gender identity will not.

The BBC understands a series of crunch talks between No 10, the Government Equalities Office and charities hoping to get transgender people included in the ban have failed.

A government spokesperson said they will carry out "separate work" on the issue of transgender conversion therapy but that they were keen for any legislative method brought forward not to have "unintended consequences".

They added: "This is a legally complex area and we have a responsibility to ensure unintended consequences are not written into legislation, particularly in the case of under 18s."

A number of gender critical groups had fought for the ban not to include conversion therapy relating to issues of gender identity.

Responding to the legislation on Friday, Nikki da Costa, a former director of legislative affairs at No 10, said elements of the law would have had "profound consequences for children struggling with gender dysphoria".

She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Doctors, therapists and parents would be deterred from exploring with a child any feelings of what else may be going on for fear of being told they're trying to change a child's identity", adding that it was "deeply concerning".

Government insiders say it was seen as "too complicated" to avoid any unintended consequences of the legislation - which may affect teachers, parents and therapists helping children who are struggling with their gender identity.

The Welsh government is now looking at legal advice to see what action it can take to ban trans conversion therapy.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×