Kemi Badenoch has expressed support for Donald Trump’s ban on transgender athletes competing in women’s sport.
The Conservative leader hit out at Sir Keir Starmer who she said ‘couldn’t care less’ about protecting single-sex spaces.
Ms Badenoch promised to guarantee ‘dignity, safety and fairness’ for women if the Tories return to power.
It comes after former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies led calls from athletes, MPs and women’s rights groups who welcomed the US president’s move this week.
Mr Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday titled ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports’ that will prevent trans women from competing in female categories from grassroots to elite levels.
Sharing his announcement yesterday, Mrs Badenoch said: ‘Last year, I vowed to redefine sex in UK law to reflect biological reality. Be it men in women’s prisons or sports – dignity, safety and fairness are non-negotiable.
‘Keir Starmer and Labour? They couldn’t care less. When we’re back in government, women-only spaces will be protected.’
Last year Ms Badenoch, then Minister for Women and Equalities, pledged to change the Equality Act so that the protected characteristic of sex would be defined as ‘biological sex’.
A spokesman for the Tory leader added yesterday: ‘Labour called it “a distraction” and while in government they have basically signed up to self-ID, allowing biological men to participate in women’s sports.
‘If Keir Starmer is serious about the safety of women and girls, he should pick up where Kemi left off and make it clear that for sports designated as women-only, sex means biological sex.’
Following Mr Trump’s announcement, former Olympic swimmer Ms Davies urged the Prime Minister to implement a similar ban in the UK to ‘protect all female athletes’.
‘Biology matters especially in a physical activity like sport but women and girls deserve spaces away from any and all males,’ she added.
Some sports governing bodies have already updated their policies on transgender athletes in recent years but there is no consensus and rules vary by discipline.
Athletics, swimming and rugby union have banned trans women – who are biologically male – from competing in female categories, while sports including rowing and cycling have more nuanced rules.
Yesterday Mr Trump said he hopes to see the Olympic Committee implementing the policy, which only applies in the US. He said on his Truth Social platform: ‘Men should have never been allowed to compete against women in the first place, but I am proud to be the president to save women’s sports.
‘We expect the Olympics committee to also use common sense and implement this policy, which is very popular among the American people and the entire world.’