London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 23, 2025

Three UK government LGBT advisers quit with rebuke of 'ignorant' ministers

Three UK government LGBT advisers quit with rebuke of 'ignorant' ministers

Jayne Ozanne criticises Liz Truss and Kemi Badenoch and says government has created hostile environment for LGBT people
Three of the government’s LGBT advisers have resigned from their posts and criticised the equalities ministers Liz Truss and Kemi Badenoch.

Jayne Ozanne, a member of the LGBT advisory panel, quit on Wednesday, accusing ministers of creating a hostile environment for LGBT people and claiming Truss and Badenoch were ignorant on key issues.

The Government Equalities Office later confirmed that James Morton, who has been a manager at the Scottish Trans Alliance, had resigned from the same panel. Morton said he had been “very concerned for several months that Liz Truss and her junior ministers are not committed to LGBT equality”, the BBC reported. “It doesn’t appear that they’re doing anything useful or helpful for trans people in terms of government policy.”

On Thursday Ellen Murray, a policy and research officer for Transgender Equality Network Ireland, became the third member of the panel to quit, accusing ministers of acting “in appalling faith”.

She tweeted: “There’s precious little patience I have left for the government at this point, but with what remains: get your act together. Use the panel for what it was intended and actually prohibit conversion therapy. Stop deporting LGBT refugees. Drop the trans culture war.”

Ozanne said she had sat in meetings with Truss and Badenoch and “been astonished about how ignorant they are”.

She said that while Boris Johnson was a friend of the LGBT community, she felt the need to quit so she could criticise government proposals on banning “conversion therapy” because the plans did not have the confidence of the LGBT community nor “many senior religious leaders”.

MPs from across the political divide have expressed frustration at the government’s delay in bringing forward legislation to outlaw conversion practices. These treat sexuality as a choice or mental health problem, and use some form of treatment or psychotherapy to try to change a person’s sexual orientation or suppress their gender identity.

The Tory backbencher Gary Sambrook complained in a Commons debate this week: “I want to send a message to the government that it has been three years since this promise to ban conversion therapy. We have got to get on with it and make sure that we deliver on it.”

Badenoch reassured him and other colleagues: “We are committed to ending conversion therapy in the UK and we take the issue very seriously.”

But speaking to ITV News on Wednesday, Ozanne said: “I do not believe this Tory government, sadly, have the best wishes of the LGBT community at heart. Instead we seem to have a Trump-esque mode of operation where they’re listening to the rightwing evangelicals and those, frankly, who want to take us back.”

Ozanne said Truss and Badenoch were “known among the community as the ‘ministers for inequality’” because they did not understand LGBT people, particularly transgender people.

“There are many who fear that we are going back to the days of Thatcher, the days of section 28,” she continued. “The language that I hear from them is of us being woke, or of being loud lobby groups, and what they don’t seem to understand is the reason we have to shout is because we are hurting, because there are people who are vulnerable who are going unheard and unnoticed.”

Peter Tatchell, the human rights campaigner, has called on Badenoch to resign for “failing to deliver” the ban on conversion practices. He said her “feeble statement” on Monday “was the last straw”.

“Kemi claimed she was ‘consulting widely’ but none of the 20-plus organisations supporting a ban have been consulted,” he said. “Kemi has lost the confidence of the LGBT+ community.”

Labour accused the government of having “prevaricated” on banning conversion practices “for far too long” and claimed it revealed “a pattern of behaviour which seeks to dismiss the real impact of the discrimination experienced by so many”.

The shadow equalities secretary, Marsha de Cordova, said: “The government must get on with setting out a clear plan now which will see an end to this inhumane practice that has no place in modern Britain.”

A government spokesperson said: “The government is committed to building a country in which everyone, no matter their sexuality, race or religion, is free to live their lives as they choose. We have repeatedly made clear that we will take action to end conversion therapy and we are working to bring forward plans to do so shortly.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
×