Education Secretary Gillian Keegan confirmed in front of the Education Committee this morning that trans guidance to be issued before Christmas will not restrict social transitioning. Keegan faced a fiery line from Tory MP Nick Fletcher, who asserted he  “can’t go to bed at night knowing a Secretary of State is allowing current trans situation in schools“. Keegan hit back: “Never go to bed at night thinking you care more about children than I do”. She is the Education Secretary after all…

Keegan explained that banning social transitioning in schools would require a “change in the equalities law,” a matter for Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch to deal with. Kemi has been positioned as taking the more hardline approach on the issue of social transitioning in schools, having been brought in to help draw up new guidance, while Keegan has been criticised  for being “too liberal“. Though if star of the Tory-right and “culture warrior” Kemi was so passionate about the subject, then it’s up to the Equalities Minister to change the law…

Tory MP Nick Fletcher has made headline-grabbing remarks in a Westminster Hall debate about International Men’s Day. His unique theory on why young men might succumb to a life of crime:

“Everywhere, not least within the cultural sphere, there seems to be a call from a tiny, very vocal minority that every male character or good role model must have a female replacement…one only needs to have a look at the discussions surrounding who will play the next James Bond. And it’s not just James Bond. In recent years we have seen Doctor Who, Ghostbusters, Luke Skywalker, [and] the Equalizer all replaced by women, and men are left with the Krays and Tommy Shelby. Is there any wonder we are seeing so many young men committing crime? These programmes make crime look cool. Trust me, a lifetime in prison is not cool.“

If it gets him off the hook for London’s knife crime epidemic, it may be a theory Sadiq Khan can sign up to…