Boris Johnson struggled not to laugh when Penny Mordaunt told him trans rights was 'most important issue of our times'
Boris Johnson and Penny Mordaunt both served in Theresa May's cabinet
PA/Reuters
Boris Johnson has revealed that he struggled not to laugh when Penny Mordaunt told him that the issue of trans rights was the "most important of our time".
The former Prime Minister disclosed the details of the event in his memoirs Unleashed, stating how the former Equalities Minister had raised the issue in a cabinet meeting.
During his time as Foreign Secretary under the premiership of Theresa May, both Johnson and his fellow cabinet member, Philip Hammond - who served as Chancellor at the time - struggled to keep a straight face when their Conservative colleague made the comment.
In his book - serialised by the Daily Mail - Johnson announced that Mordaunt had "something very important to talk about" in "breathy vicar's-daughter tones".
Boris Johnson revealed the incident in his book Unleashed
Reuters
The ex-PM wrote: "At which point Penny began a long disquisition about gender recognition, and the problems of British transsexuals in changing sex.
“I didn’t catch all the details, but it seemed fairly harrowing stuff, and at one point I heard Penny claim: ‘This is the most important issue of our times’.
“I didn’t always agree with Phil Hammond, but I happened at that moment to catch his eye and to see that he – like me – was struggling to contain his amusement.
“I mean: I could see that this was an issue of huge importance to some people (though surely not that many?) and I could see that it needed to be handled with tact and sensitivity.
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Penny Mordaunt served as Equalities Minister in Theresa May's cabinet
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“But ‘the most important issue of our times?' Really?”
Johnson outlined how Mordaunt had the support of then-Prime Minister May, causing Boris to doubt whether she was truly right-wing or not.
He wrote: "There was Theresa, nodding away enthusiastically at what was clearly a presentation organised and approved by No 10.
“So was she a Right-winger, or was she woke?"
Theresa May was seen "nodding away enthusiastically" to Mordaunt's speech
PA
During her premiership, May promised to allow trans people to self-change their legal gender without having to see a GP, a practice known as self-ID.
Mordaunt was for years a vocal supporter of this policy, but many women’s rights organisations believe self-ID can put women at risk by allowing predatory biological men into single-sex spaces.
Her stance on trans rights came under scrutiny a couple of years later when she ran for Tory leader in 2022, forcing her to row back on her support for the issue.