Gay MP Wes Streeting slammed for issuing gender-critic Rosie Duffield apology: ‘You are irredeemable’
“I’m really sorry about the way Rosie’s been treated”
Labour’s Wes Streeting, who identifies as gay, has been criticised for apologising to fellow MP Rosie Duffield.
The Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care told Times Radio listeners on Friday (28 July) that he was “sorry” for the way gender-critic Duffield has been treated in recent months.
Canterbury MP Duffield has left many LGBTQ+ people, particularly those who are trans, feeling attacked due to views that have been described as “anti-trans”.
Speaking in an interview with host Ayesha Hazarika, Streeting said: “I’m really sorry about the way Rosie’s been treated.”
“There are times when Rosie’s kind of tweeted or liked certain things and I’ve been really upset” – Wes Streeting
This came in a week where Labour went back on their promise to commit to self-ID for trans people.
Streeting went on to note the issue of self-ID had “sometimes created a wedge between friends” when addressing the MP’s gender-critical views.
“There are times when Rosie’s kind of tweeted or liked certain things and I’ve been really upset. There were times where, I’ve taken a much more defensive position around trans equality and Rosie’s felt that [I] personally, and others, haven’t listened.
“That’s why I think we’ve got to try and find a better way through this to create a culture in which friendships aren’t divided, families aren’t divided, and countries aren’t divided.”
“If you support Rosie Duffield you don’t support trans equality, let’s get that out of the way”
However, many took issue with Streeting’s comments and concluded his sympathy towards Duffield meant he does “not support trans equality.”
One person responded on Twitter: “So where’s the olive branch from Duffield? There isn’t going to be one. She’s got what she wanted. She will continue to demonise the LGBT community, and we’re supposed to ‘listen’ to people who won’t begin to give us a fair hearing.”
Another weighed in: “Were the views of any trans people sought for their input into this section of the programme…?”
“If you support Rosie Duffield you don’t support trans equality. Let’s get that out of the way,” someone else remarked. Another replied: “You are irredeemable.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Streeting said he felt LGBTQ+ people had “missed the mark” in criticising the likes of Duffield and JK Rowling.
He went on to add: “If you’d asked me this question a couple of years ago, I’d have said ‘Trans men are men, trans women are women, get over it’.
“It’s by listening to friends that I’ve thought, ‘Well, actually it’s a little more complicated’.”
A woman is an adult female, so let’s clear that one up” – Keir Starmer
Streeting’s comments were made just days after Labour leader Keir Starmer also confirmed he did not plan to go ahead with self-ID.
Speaking during a phone-in on BBC Radio 5 Live, he said of the party’s position “we don’t think that self-identification is the right way forward.”
Starmer was also was torn into by host Nicky Campbell who said the Labour Party “struggles” with “the penis question”. Back in April, Starmer said womanhood is “completely biological” for “99 per cent of women.”
“A woman is an adult female, so let’s clear that one up,” Starmer said last week.
This apparent change of heart comes after “reflecting on what happened in Scotland.”
This referred to Scottish Labour’s decision to continue to back the de-medicalisation of the process.
Wes Streeting’s office has been contacted for comment.