Boris Johnson sparks chaos over plans to ban conversion therapy

Frequent observers of Boris Johnson’s government will, perhaps, be well accustomed to the occasional U-turn: free school meals, Covid passports, exam algorithms, mandatory jabs – to name a handful.

But even by existing standards, the prime minister’s rapid backtracking last night on plans to drop legislation to ban the discredited practice of “conversion therapy” was quite remarkable.

Since entering No 10, Mr Johnson has repeatedly vowed to introduce legislation to eradicate the “abhorrent” practice, which seeks to suppress or change an individual’s sexuality or gender identity. “It has no place in a civilised society, it has no place in this country,” he proclaimed in 2020, before including a proposed ban in the Queen’s speech the following year.

The prime minister’s wife, Carrie, also took the highly unusual step of delivering a speech on the fringes of the Conservative Party conference in Manchester last autumn dedicated to LGBT rights, and specifically praised the government for “banning conversion therapy”.

So it was perhaps surprising for officials working on the proposals to first learn Mr Johnson was to ditch the commitment through a leak to ITV News last night. In a document – entitled “Conversion Therapy Handling Plan” – it made clear the prime minister had “decided we should not move forward with legislation to ban LGBT conversion therapy”.

The briefing warned there would be a “noisy backlash” from campaigners “when we announce we do not intend to proceed”, and attempted to justify the plan, stating: “Given the unprecedented circumstances of major pressures on cost-of-living and the crisis in Ukraine, there is an urgent need to rationalise our legislative programme.”

It also made clear those involved in designing the ban had not been informed of the decision to drop the commitment, including Liz Truss, the foreign secretary and women and equalities minister, who last night was concluding an official visit to India over Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“While Liz is not ideologically committed to the legislation she is likely to be concerned about owning the new position, having personally committed to delivering the bill,” it added.

Just three hours before the report was published, Mike Freer, another equalities minister seemingly unaware of the U-turn, had posted on social media after a Zoom call organising the UK’s first LGBT conference: “I’m committed to banning conversion therapy practices and want to tackle the challenges faced by trans communities – in the UK and globally.”

As predicted by the document, a “noisy backlash” ensued – just not on the timetable of No 10’s choosing. Jayne Ozanne, a former adviser to the government on LGBT issues, described the move as “callous” and the “most significant betrayal of trust” the community has experienced.

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There was also outrage from Conservative MPs, including Dehenna Davison, a member of the 2019 intake, who said it was “fundamentally wrong” and called for an immediate reversal. “As well as breaking an explicit promise, this is a matter of basic decency,” she posted.

Former minister Caroline Nokes said: “If conversion therapy was ‘abhorrent’ to the government in December why on the eve of April Fool’s Day is it apparently rowing back on a commitment to end it?” Tory backbencher Michael Fabricant – one of the prime minister’s most loyal defenders on airwaves during the height of the Partygate scandal – even suggested the decision was “politically dumb”.

A government source also told The Independent: “People were very angry, not just about the issue but also what it says about the No 10 ‘reset’.

“Ministers were still being ignored, disregarded and overruled, parliamentary party not understood, poor calibre advice given to the PM etc.”

But just hours later, the prime minister had backtracked (partially) on the U-turn, as government sources hastily briefed journalists that the legislation would, after all, be included in the Queen’s speech – scheduled for 10 May. After seeing the intense reaction to the leak of government plans, Mr Johnson was said to have “changed his mind”.

However, the row is far from over: the government’s revised plans will now reportedly include ban on gay “conversion therapy”, but will not cover practices aimed at transgender people.

The Conservative MP Alicia Kearns, who said she was “pleased” Mr Johnson had “listened to our colleagues”, added: “However, we cannot exclude our trans friends – why should quacks and charlatans be allowed to cause life-long harm to them?”