Newspapers accused of pushing ‘new Section 28’ by attacking transgender issues in schools

Anti-LGBT MPs have launched an attack on schools mentioning that transgender people exist – in a row reminiscent of Section 28.

The Daily Telegraph ran a front-page story today criticising a healthcare survey given to pupils in UK schools.

The survey asked a number of questions about the pupils to gather data on health issues, including exercise, weight, mental health, drug use and smoking.

It came under fire over a question aimed at trans and genderfluid children, that asked: “Do you feel the same inside as the gender you were born with?”

The Telegraph spoke to vociferously anti-LGBT MPs Tim Loughton and Jacob Rees-Mogg, who both criticised the inclusion of the gender identity question.

Tim Loughton said: “At a time when children are growing up and having to deal with all sorts of challenges of the modern world, now they are being asked to confront their gender, which for many will be unsettling.

“Clearly we need to be sensitive about the issue of gender and sexual orientation but forcing children to question whether they are the right gender so early on can be deeply destabilising.”

Jacob Rees-Mogg added: “It is quite intrusive – these are private matters in a family.

“The problem with this approach is not just with the question but with the intrusive survey that invades people’s privacy and assumes the state has a role in a matter that actually belongs within the family.