U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak caught on video mocking trans women

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been caught on tape mocking transgender women.

In a leaked video from a June 5 event obtained by U.K.-based LGBTQ+ outlet PinkNews, Sunak can be heard taking a shot at Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey.

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“Like me, you can probably see that he was trying to convince everybody that women clearly had penises,” the Tory party leader told the crowd of conservative MPs at the event. “You’ll all know that I’m a big fan of everybody studying maths to 18, but it turns out that we need to focus on biology.”

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Sunak’s transphobic remark was met with laughter from the crowd, estimated to have included around 100 conservative MPs.

According to Gay Times, the jab at Davey is likely in response to an appearance he made in May on the British radio show LBC. During the interview, Davey called for “a bit more maturity and a bit more compassion” in the “debate” around transgender rights.

Host Nick Ferrari went on to ask Davey whether a woman can have a penis. “I’ve made it really clear that if people—the vast majority of people will have the same gender as their biological sex,” Davey responded. “But a small number won’t.”

“So, a woman can have a penis?” Ferrari pressed.

“Well, quite clearly,” Davey said.

.@NickFerrariLBC: 'So a woman can have a penis?'

Lib Dem leader @EdwardJDavey: 'Quite clearly.' pic.twitter.com/kDT9qxnWTK

— LBC (@LBC) May 23, 2023

Since PinkNews posted the video, critics have slammed Sunak.

“You wouldn’t make jokes about other marginalized people the way he did about trans people,” the source who provided the video told the outlet. “There was laughter, there were quite a few younger attendees who looked visibly uncomfortable.”

“It is profoundly depressing – this whole ‘othering’ of minorities – pretty much any minority,” said an unnamed senior Tory MP. “Without stopping to think we have equalities legislation for a reason, to stop discrimination against anyone with a protected characteristic – we should be trying to understand and support, not belittle and demonize.”

LGBTQ+ rights activist Peter Tatchell called Sunak’s words “borderline indecent.” The Prime Minister, he said, “refuses to accept that there are women based on biology and women based on gender identity – both equally valid.”

“No minority community should be the butt of a joke,” Nancy Kelley, CEO of U.K. LGBTQ+ rights organization Stonewall told Gay Times. “It is incredibly disappointing that the Prime Minister chose to mock trans people in front of his parliamentary colleagues. This is a far cry from his pledge to govern with compassion and would be unacceptable in any modern workplace. The PM should apologize for his actions.”

“I am appalled by the way our Prime Minister has sought to use one of the most vulnerable groups in our society, who he knows suffers the highest level of hate crime, as a political football,” said Jayne Ozanne, chair of the Ban Conversion Therapy Coalition. “If anyone needs to go back to school it is him, not only to learn about the complexities of biology but also to be reminded of the importance of common decency and respect for all.”

The leaked clip is just the latest example of Sunak’s dismal record on transgender rights.

Even before taking office last year, the U.K.’s first Prime Minister of color essentially aligned himself with so-called “Gender Critical” feminists. During an August 2022 Q&A, he said that transgender women are not women. The following October, he characterized gender-neutral language and trans-inclusive policies as part of “recent trends to erase women.” He promised to release a “manifesto for women’s rights” that would call for banning trans women from women’s restrooms and sports, positions that would likely increase the public harassment and isolation of trans individuals. His party has supported dropping trans people from a proposed national ban on conversion therapy.

In January, the U.K.’s Tory government blocked Scotland’s Gender Recognition Reform bill, which would have made it possible for trans people to update their gender on legal documents. Sunak supported the move to block the bill. Earlier this month, he indicated that he intends to change the U.K.’s Equality Act to ban trans women from single-sex spaces.