Rishi Sunak declares "biological sex really matters"

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated this week that “biological sex really matters” and highlighted the ‘unfairness’ of transgender athletes competing against women in sport.

Piers Morgan, who led the interview, asked the Prime Minister for this definition of woman, to which he replied, “Of course I know what a woman is, an adult female.”

In response to Morgan’s questions about transgender athletes competing in women’s sports, he stated, “Well, I think that doesn’t strike most people as being fair, right? So that’s why when it comes to these questions, biological sex matters.”

This interview comes amidst concerns that the new Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill could infringe on the existing UK-wide Equality Act if it receives royal assent.

The Bill, passed by MSPs in Holyrood just before Christmas, has been blocked by the UK Government from becoming law after the Scottish Secretary Alistair Jack issued an unprecedented Section 35 order.

Scottish First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has since been accused of undermining her own laws following the recent case of Isla Bryson.

Bryson was convicted of raping two women while she was a man called Adam Graham and was taken to Scotland’s only all-female prison after being convicted but has since been moved to the male estate following public outcry.

Scottish Conservative MSP Douglas Ross used First Minister’s Questions on Thursday to question Ms Sturgeon about Bryson’s case and the process of self-ID.

Ms Sturgeon stated that, “This individual claims to be a woman – what I said was that I don’t have information about whether those claims have validity or not …

“What I think is relevant in this case is not whether the individual is a man or claims to be a woman or is trans, what is relevant is that the individual is a rapist.

“That is how the individual should be described, and that should be the main consideration in deciding how the individual is dealt with – that is why the individual is in a male prison, not in the female prison ...”

Mr Sunak told Morgan that he thinks the Scottish bill, “has real implications for we think about these issues on a UK wide basis and the interaction between these things, particularly on women’s safety."

He continued, “Women walking around in the evenings deserve to feel safe … We haven’t done a good enough job with that in the past and we’re working really hard to improve things … it’s something that I hope I can achieve as Prime Minister … because that’s what we all owe them.”