Boris Johnson has weighed in on the gender debate, claiming that JK Rowling says what most people “secretly think”.
The former prime minister heralded the feminist campaigner as a “modern saint” for her position on trans issues, claiming that “95 per cent” of the population privately agree with her.
Addressing a conservative conference in Ottawa, USA, Johnson said many people “don’t have the guts” to agree with Rowling publicly because they are “worried that they will offend somebody”.
Rowling, an outspoken defender of biological sex and womens spaces, has found herself at the centre of a row after the SNP introduced new hate crime laws in Scotland last week.
Boris Johnson has weighed in on the gender debate, claiming that JK Rowling says what most people “secretly think”
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The Scottish Government introduced the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act last Monday, which creates a new offence of “stirring up of hatred” for protected characteristics, or “misgendering” trans people.
In a mocking post on social media, Rowling misgendered a number of transgender people and encouraged the police to arrest her.
Police Scotland concluded that no offence had been committed.
Speaking about the Harry Potter author, Johnson said: “She’s probably done more to encourage young people to read around the world than any other person I can think of.”
“And by the way, what’s so crazy, is what she says about gender is, of course, what 95 per cent of the population secretly think.”
The gender debate intensified this week, after the publication of the Cass Review, a report into gender identity services.
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.
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."
Speaking about the Harry Potter author, Johnson said: “She’s probably done more to encourage young people to read around the world than any other person I can think of"
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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."