'Some women will have penises': Emily Thornberry pressed on Labour trans row

8 April 2022, 14:31

Emily Thornberry asked if a woman can have a penis

Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry has told LBC some women "will have penises", after she was pressed on Labour's trans row by Nick Ferrari.

It comes after Nick Ferrari grilled Sir Keir Starmer on whether or not "a women can have a penis". During their exchange, the Labour leader said: "I don't think that discussing this issue in this way helps anyone in the long run."

Nick Ferrari asked the Shadow Attorney General: "Emily Thornberry, when once asked can a woman have a penis said 'people are complex and different, it's up to listeners to decide if I've given a full answer to that'.

"Emily Thornberry, are you ready to give us a slightly more detailed rather than nuanced answer. Emily Thornberry - to that question - can a woman have a penis?"

"Most women are like me," Ms Thornberry replied.

"Of course most women are biologically adult females. There are, however, a minority of people who are born into the wrong gender, who are deeply unhappy and are marginalised people, who frankly, we should have a bit of compassion for.

"Women who are trans deserve to be recognised, and yes - therefore some of them will have penises. Frankly, I'm not looking up their skirts, I don't care, what I care about is that they're looked after properly and that they're not used as a political football by a Prime Minister who ought to know better."

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Labour has found itself in difficulty in recent months over trans issues, with Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield both criticised and heralded for her views.

Ms Duffield came under fire for her opposition to "male-bodied biological men" being allowed to self-identify as female in order to access women-only spaces such as prisons and domestic violence refuges.

She opted not to attend the Labour Party conference in September after receiving threats and being branded transphobic, which she denies. Sir Keir later said the Kent MP had been wrong to say "only women have a cervix".

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