Wes Streeting accused of 'utter lack of transparency' as parents of trans children launch legal action against puberty blocker trial

Parents of transgender children in the UK have launched a High Court legal challenge aimed at stopping an NHS backed clinical trial of puberty blockers for young people.

The action has been filed against Health Secretary Wes Streeting and other officials, and argues the trial's ethical approval was "unlawful" and "fails to protect vulnerable children".

Taking issue with Mr Streeting's changing stance on the trial, Mr Esses told GB News contributor Connie Shaw: "The indifference is concerning, and we've seen much the same from Wes Streeting himself. He's essentially been talking out of both sides of his mouth. He's kind of trying to back both horses.

"He spoke to an LGBT event that I sent someone undercover to record last September, and at that event, he said that when he first banned puberty blockers, he said that decision made him very uncomfortable.

"And then just two months later, speaking on LBC about the agreement to give the trial the go ahead, he said the trialling puberty blockers made him very uncomfortable. So which way is it Wes?"

Detailing the mounting legal action against the Government, Mr Esses said there has been a "conspiracy of silence" and a "refusal to engage" with the concerned parents.

He revealed: "We try to engage with the ethical bodies responsible for overseeing and approving the trial, and to be honest, there's been a conspiracy of silence.

"There's been a complete and utter lack of transparency, refusal to engage with us, to disclose documents around protocols and the ethical assessment behind the trial itself."

Believing that the approval of the trial is not "ethically correct", he added: "Some of the justification they used for not disclosing these ethical documents to us was on the basis of commercial considerations.

"Now, given that we're talking about the welfare of some of the most vulnerable children in society, surely commerce should not come into it.

"So we're concerned and we don't believe that it's been correctly or ethically approved."

Asked by Connie if there could be an "ethical way" to carry out such a trial to obtain the data they need, Mr Esses completely disagreed: "No, I don't, because you have to look at what should the prerequisites be for a clinical trial.

"So again, firstly there need to be proper rigour. There should be a control group when it comes to clinical trials, a control group in this instance is impossible given the nature of puberty blockers,and so there isn't one.

"The follow up period that we can see is only two years, whereas we know the harm may take many years, even decades, to present itself."

He added: "Using clinical trials, particularly on children, should be an absolute last resort. Ethics requires you to trial out the least invasive and least risky option first.

"So, for example, there should have been a standalone trial on whether psychotherapy alone can alleviate feelings of gender dysphoria.

"There needs to be further exploration of animal based trials as well before moving on to children."

Asked why he believes politicians are "scared" and "nervous" around LGBT issues, Mr Esses concluded that they want to do what is "most expedient to them".

He said: "In the case of Wes Streeting, he was a former employee of Stonewall, so I don't think we should be completely surprised by the way that he's carrying on with this. In general, I think politicians want to do what is whatever is most expedient to them.

"They like to play the field, they rely on public support, and this issue is extremely divisive and contentious.

"And that's the shame of it, actually, because the majority of the public would be on the politicians' side if they stood up for justice and what was right in the name of children and women."

In a statement, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: "Medical care must always be based on solid evidence, and children's safety must come first.

"The expert Cass review, which was accepted by the last Government and this one, recommended a ban on puberty blockers for gender incongruence, and that clinical research be carried out to address a lack of scientific evidence. This trial will help provide the evidence that is currently lacking."

A King's College London spokesman said: "We strongly refute the claim that this carefully designed study is scientifically unsound, or that it bypassed the ethics process, and we can confirm that the study has completed all the necessary ethics and approvals processes."