KEMI Badenoch yesterday hit back at leftie Doctor Who actor David Tennant after he said he hoped she would “not exist” because of her trans rights views.
The Cabinet minister lashed out at the Labour-backing star who told an LGBTQ+ awards bash that she should “shut up”.
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It comes as gender policies take centre-stage in the election campaign, with the Tories ramping up attacks on Keir Starmer’s ambiguous position — claiming Labour would “dilute women’s rights” by introducing self-ID “by the back door”.
And the row intensified yesterday as the minister for women and equalities accused Tennant of being a “rich, lefty, white male celebrity blinded by ideology”.
Receiving an ally gong at the British LGBT Awards on Friday night, the Scottish actor, above, said he was “a little depressed that acknowledging everyone has the right to be who they want to be . . . should merit any special award”.
He went on: “However, until we wake up and Kemi Badenoch doesn’t exist anymore . . .
READ MORE ON TRANS RIGHTS
“I don’t wish ill of her, I just wish her to shut up.”
But Ms Badenoch — who wants to ban trans women from women’s toilets and sports teams in order to protect women — responded on X: “I will not shut up. I will not be silenced by men who prioritise applause from Stonewall over the safety of women and girls.
“A rich, lefty, white male celebrity so blinded by ideology he can’t see the optics of attacking the only black woman in government by calling for my existence to end.”
She added: “Tennant is one of Labour’s celebrity supporters. This is an early example of what life will be like if they win.
“Keir Starmer stood by while Rosie Duffield was hounded. He and his supporters will do the same with the country. Don’t let the bigots and bullies win.”
Her comment referred to Harry Potter author JK Rowling’s blast at Sir Keir for abandoning women concerned with gender ideology, including his own MP Rosie.
It came as Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson plunged Labour deeper into controversy as she claimed trans women with penises will be able to use female toilets under the party’s plans.
She argued female lavatories were the right place for people with gender recognition certificates.
The current process to obtain the document involves stringent checks, including medical sign-offs and a requirement to live with their new gender identity for two years.
But Labour’s latest proposal could soften both of these rules.
At a speech in central London, Health Secretary Victoria Atkins hit out at the plans as she accused her opponents of wanting to “eradicate” women from the British language.
She argued top Labour politicians had “run towards this biological denial and embraced it” after highlighting the removal of words such as mother and breastfeeding.
Ms Atkins added: “Now we discover the Labour Party want to dilute women’s rights further through their plans to introduce self-identification by the back door.
“What is worrying about their approach to this is that they appear to be changing their script according to who is listening.
‘We can make some real progress’
“We have seen the Labour leader himself struggling to define what a woman is. Rather than listening to women in his party, he chooses to quote his predecessor Tony Blair, a man, when it comes to understanding what a woman is.”
In response to her comments, the Labour leader said: “I couldn’t be clearer about this. We are not introducing self-identification. We are going to be and are protective of women’s spaces.
“I was working on this a long time ago now, when I was chief prosecutor in 2008 and 2015, particularly when I was working on violence against women and girls initiatives to drive up the conviction rates of working with others.
“And I think that this is a debate that needs to be conducted with the respect that it deserves, and then in that way, we can make some real progress.”
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In The Sun’s Never Mind The Ballots election debate on Monday, Sir Keir said he respected Ms Rowling’s views and would be happy to meet her to discuss the issue.
The author yesterday agreed to meet, but only if Deputy Labour Leader Angela Rayner apologised for endorsing a charter that described Woman’s Place and the LGB Alliance as “hate groups”.
She also called for Labour to first meet with the groups and other women’s rights organisations which had also been fobbed off.
An exclusive poll on our debate shows PM Rishi Sunak impressed viewers with his firm defence of the Tories’ record on education and tough stance on immigration.
But his explanation of the betting scandal fell flat with the audience, the survey of 1,000 Tory and Labour voters by JL Partners found.
It also showed voters also appreciated Sir Keir’s efforts to distance himself from former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and his heartfelt stories about the NHS.
