Starmer says he doesn’t think trans women are women

This comes after last week's controversial UK Supreme Court ruling.

It comes after last week's UK Supreme Court ruling that defined a woman by biological sex under equalities law.

While leader of the opposition in March 2022, Starmer told the Times that "a woman is a female adult, and in addition to that, transwomen are women, and that is not just my view - that is actually the law".

However, when asked if still believed that a transgender woman was a woman, his official spokesman said: "No, the Supreme Court judgment has made clear that when looking at the Equality Act, a woman is a biological woman."

"That is set out clearly by the court judgment," he added.

Additionally, the ruling set out that anyone who was born male but identifies as a woman does not have the right to use spaces or services designated as for women-only.

The spokesman for the Prime Minister stressed "a woman is an adult female" before the court judgment.

In 2023, Starmer told The Sunday Times that "99.9%" of women "haven't got a penis", and later that year told BBC Radio 5 Live "a woman is an adult female".

Furthermore, in April of last year he stood up for former Labour MP Rosie Duffield after she told ITV that "only women have a cervix".

"Biologically, she of course is right about that," he said.

His spokesman declined to comment on whether the PM would use a trans woman's preferred pronouns.

He insisted that the Labour government was consistent in that single sex spaces "are protected in law".

He added that the Supreme Court ruling "brought clarity" on this.

In his first public comments since the ruling, Starmer told ITV West Country: "We need to move and make sure that we now ensure that all guidance is in the right place according to that judgment."

"A woman is an adult female, and the court has made that absolutely clear."