Lorraine Harmer

Stonewall has been given unprecedented access to Downing Street and helped the Labour Government draw up its “chilling” Conversion Practices Bill. The Telegraph has revealed that the controversial charity has been supplying Downing Street with research to justify the proposed law. Under the Bill, parents, therapists and religious leaders could face up to five years in prison for having important conversations with gender-confused children or sharing their faith’s teachings on sex, gender and marriage with their congregations. Stonewall’s head of policy was reportedly invited to a meeting at 10 Downing Street to discuss the proposed law and made recommendations to the MPs scrutinising the Bill. Dennis Kavanagh, director of the Gay Men’s Network and a criminal barrister, said his organisation had not been offered similar meetings. He told The Telegraph: “The level of government access afforded to Stonewall is extraordinary, particularly in view of their extreme position on gender matters and their poor track record in accurately stating the law.” Published in June, the Bill’s impact assessment cited a Stonewall survey to argue that conversion practices were so prevalent that new legislation was needed — even though conversion practices are already illegal. Read more below 👇