I would give JK Rowling a peerage for gender stance, says Kemi Badenoch

Conservative Party enactment frontrunner Kemi Badenoch has said she would connection JK Rowling a peerage aft pushing for the writer of the arguable Cass Review of NHS sex individuality services to participate the House of Lords.

In an interrogation with TalkTV, the erstwhile equalities curate praised some the Harry Potter writer and paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass for their stance connected gender, saying they person “fought for truthful much” and request “protection”.

“They are attacked relentlessly by each sorts of oddballs and atrocious people,” she said.

Asked whether she would springiness erstwhile Labour protagonist Ms Rowling a peerage, Ms Badenoch said: “I would. I don’t cognize whether she would instrumentality it. I surely would springiness her a peerage.”

She added that she had “managed to get Dr Hilary Cass a peerage” due to the fact that she would beryllium “a beardown dependable successful Parliament”.

Lady Cass, arsenic she present is, took her spot successful the Lords connected Monday having been elevated to the precocious enclosure arsenic an autarkic crossbench adjacent successful Rishi Sunak’s dissolution honours earlier this year.

Her review, published successful April, recovered attraction had been directed by “ideology connected each sides” and was based connected “remarkably anemic evidence”.

It led to NHS England ending the medicine of puberty blockers for children experiencing sex dysphoria, with Scotland’s lone session offering sex services to young radical pursuing suit.

But immoderate doctors and academics some successful the UK and internationally person criticised the report, expressing interest astir its methodology, and the British Medical Association has announced it volition transportation retired an valuation of the Cass Review.

In her TalkTV interview, Ms Badenoch accused immoderate Tory enactment candidates of “throwing mud”, agreeing that the run had been “dirty”.

She besides argued that ministers had been excessively speedy to question to “blame” radical for the Southport riots, alternatively than providing “reassurance that (they) recognize the issues”.

“People whitethorn person got the perpetrator’s individuality wrong, but the information is immoderate kids are not present contiguous who should beryllium here. That is an unspeakable tragedy,” she said.