Kemi Badenoch, a former equality minister, claimed officials told her not to meet complaints and child patients while undermining her investigations with leaks. On Thursday, it was announced that the NHS is to close the London-based transgender clinic after an audit found it to be unsafe for children. The decision was a response to the Cass interim review, which warned that doctors felt “under pressure to adopt an unquestioningly positive approach” to gender identity. The review by pediatrician Dr Hilary Cass also raised concerns about the use of puberty-blocking drugs.
“Heartbreaking” testimony of young people
Speaking to GB News on Saturday, Ms Badenoch said she was “so glad” to be closing the center after hearing “horrifying” testimony from young people treated there. “What happened at Tavistock was a very serious failure in child welfare, where children were given experimental treatment that stunted their development,” he said. Ms Badenoch said she remembers “official advice, government officials telling me not to meet the clinicians who are whistleblowers, telling me not to meet the children … who had been treated there and I had to fight so hard”. He added that when he started “asking questions”, meeting minutes would suddenly be “leaked” and “mysterious” freedom of information requests would be made trying to get details from whistleblowers. “I think it’s very difficult to do the right thing now because there’s such a big barrier and that’s something we have to fix,” he added.
“Small minority” of “activists”
Ms Badenoch claimed that civil servants fell into three categories. He said there was a “small minority” of “activists” who were “not impartial”, “a large group who will just do what’s easier” and “some really smart people”. Contact the Government Equalities Office for comment. In the interview, Ms Badenoch – who finished fourth in the Tory leadership race – also said she would not “publicly declare” Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss in the contest. “I’ll have someone to support privately,” he said.
