Calling a transgender murderer and cat torturer a woman added an ‘extra layer of horror’ to the case, Suella Braverman said last night.
The former Home Secretary said referring to Scarlet Blake as female was ‘grossly insulting to women’, a ‘distortion’ of crime figures and a ‘dereliction of duty’ by some journalists.
She told the Daily Mail that the judiciary and the police must change their rules urgently in the wake of the scandal.
Mrs Braverman, who led the charge against what she saw as ‘woke’ policing while in government, added: ‘The truth can be uncomfortable. But if our journalists fail to report the truth on basic matters like biology and on issues affecting public safety and criminal justice then we are on a slippery slope to a dystopian world of doublespeak, misinformation and dangerous deception.’
Broadcasters and newspapers referred to Blake as a woman after the 26-year-old was jailed for at least 24 years on Monday for killing Jorge Martin Carreno, 30, in Oxford in July 2021. Blake had also tortured a cat and filmed it being put in a blender.
The former Home Secretary Suella Braverman (pictured) said referring to transgender murderer Scarlet Blake as female was ‘grossly insulting to women’, a ‘distortion’ of crime figures and a ‘dereliction of duty’ by some journalists
It emerged that Blake’s (pictured) crimes would be recorded as having been committed by a woman – even though the killer was sent to a male prison – after Thames Valley Police said it recorded suspects’ self-described gender on custody records
Author and women’s rights campaigner JK Rowling attacked Sky News for calling Blake a woman, posting: ‘This is not a woman. These are not our crimes.’
It then emerged that Blake’s crimes would be recorded as having been committed by a woman – even though the killer was sent to a male prison – after Thames Valley Police said it recorded suspects’ self-described gender on custody records.
That decision led to a rebuke from No10 and Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber.
Mrs Braverman said the treatment of transgender people by the criminal justice system was the ‘root of the problem’.
She added that a guidebook for judges allows defendants to self-identify as the opposite sex in court, while police regulations do not require officers to record suspects’ biological sex.
She added: ‘While transgender people deserve respect and support, it cannot be right that their rights prevail over the truth.
‘The public interest in honesty is clear – distorted crime statistics mean ministers will be forced to respond to “evidence” of increased violence by women.
‘Male criminals will argue that, as self-identifying women, they are entitled to go to a women’s prison.
Broadcasters and newspapers referred to Blake as a woman after the 26-year-old was jailed for at least 24 years on Monday for killing Jorge Martin Carreno (pictured), 30, in Oxford in July 2021
Labour health spokesman Wes Streeting (pictured) told The Telegraph he had ‘no problem’ with referring to trans women as women, but the NHS should not ‘erase’ female terms by ‘inviting “people” to get a cervical smear test rather than women’
‘If we are to restore public confidence in the criminal justice system, surely a good place to start would be with getting the basic facts right.’
It also emerged on Thursday that the BBC had upbraided Radio 4 presenter Justin Webb for calling trans women ‘males’, claiming he broke impartiality rules on the Today programme.
And yesterday, Labour health spokesman Wes Streeting told The Telegraph he had ‘no problem’ with referring to trans women as women, but the NHS should not ‘erase’ female terms by ‘inviting “people” to get a cervical smear test rather than women’.