Gillian Keegan has backtracked on her stance on transgender people, saying that people who are born men and undergo gender reassignment are women.
In April, the Education Secretary said she would no longer say that trans women are women, arguing that her understanding of the debate had "evolved" since the publication of the Cass Review.
But this morning, she said someone who was born a man is legally a woman if they have obtained a gender reassignment certificate from a doctor.
She denied that they would be a woman if they self-identify.
Gillian Keegan has backtracked on her stance on transgender people, saying that people who are born men and undergo gender reassignment are women
PA
A gender recognition certificate can be obtained if an individual has a signed report from a specialist doctor showing they have "gender dysphoria" - which means a person is distressed as a result of feeling like their biological sex and their gender identity do not match up.
Keegan told the BBC she had "always known that trans women aren't women", but added that there is a "huge difference between self-identification, people who want to identify but still have a male body, biologically are male: and then there are a very, very small number of people … who do have and have had gender reassignment and reassignment surgery".
When asked if she would say people who had undergone gender reassignment were women, the Education Secretary said: "Well, this is what we should say.
"I personally believe if you have gone to that level of, you have got the gender recognition, you have got the reassignment, then you are legally and medically allowed to say that you are a woman.”
She was then asked to confirm if "those who have had their bodies changed" are women, to which she replied: "I think that’s a sensitive way to handle it."
Speaking last month, Keegan said: "Since becoming an MP and later a minister I have learnt a huge amount more about this complex and challenging subject.
"At the time of writing that response, I didn’t have any direct experience of this topic and took advice on how best to respond, given the complexities surrounding individual cases.
"Having now spoken to experts and professionals, like many, my understanding has evolved.
"I have since been crystal clear about my concerns that women are being erased in this debate, and have always been clear that women do not have, nor have ever had, a penis."
The Cass Review, a report into gender identity services, was published earlier this year. The review found that there is "remarkably weak evidence" to support gender treatments for children. It also warned that the "toxicity of the debate" is not helping, claiming that people are afraid of discussing trans issues openly.
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In her report, Dr Hillary Cass said: "I have been disappointed by the lack of evidence on the long-term impact of taking hormones from an early age; research has let us all down, most importantly you.
"The reality is we have no good evidence on the long-term outcomes of interventions to manage gender-related distress."
She said that people have been "caught in the middle of a stormy social discourse".
Cass added: "There are few other areas of healthcare where professionals are so afraid to openly discuss their views, where people are vilified on social media, and where name-calling echoes the worst bullying behaviour."
