GB News hosts Emily Carver and Tom Harwood found themselves engulfed in a fiery trans debate live on air, as the Good Afternoon Britain presenters split in their views on the latest trans row to hit women's sport.
The row centres on trans women Harriet Haynes and Lucy Smith, who competed against each other in the Ultimate Pool Women’s Pro Series Event 2 final at Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan after beating four female-born opponents to the top.
Discussing the tournament on GB News, Emily asked Tom for his thoughts on the all-trans final, to which he simply replied: "So?"
Frustrated at the remark, Emily pressed Tom again: "You have no problem with two transgender women, biological males not only getting to the final, but both of them getting to the final and competing against each other, so there was no female contestant left in the final?"
Tom Harwood and Emily Carver butted heads over trans women in sport
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Tom responded: "I think some people would take issue with you using the word female in that way."
When asked by Emily what he believes the definition of a female is, Tom said: "If you're going to go down the definitional argument, you could pick any item in this room and say, 'what's your definition of that'? I'm not going to go down to a definition."
Accusing Tom of "acting like Keir Starmer", Emily argued that there should be only biological females in the female sports categories. She stated: "You either have a women's category or you don't. You have a women's category in pool, and therefore it should only be biological females who are in that, otherwise it's not fair on many levels.
"Do you believe that a female is someone who identifies as female, rather than has the biological makeup of a female? Or if you've had a bit of surgery, and a few hormones, then yes they are?"
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Emily was left with her head in her hands at Tom saw no issue with two biological males competing in the women's final
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Tom hit back: "No, I don't believe that, but I do believe that there are transgender people who need to be treated with dignity and respect."
Emily interjected, grilling her co-host: "But does that mean they get to go in the women's category of pool and win the competition? You don't know anything about this, I've looked it up."
Tom then argued: "Pool is a game where you have balls on a felt surface and you hit them with a stick."
Growing increasingly frustrated with Tom, Emily exclaimed: "I've actually read what female pool players say about this, and they say that biological males have an advantage in pool because they are taller in general and they have a longer arm span.
"They also have narrower hips. You don't know anything about pool or anything about sports in general, do you?"
Emily argued that transgender women cannot compete in standard female sports categories
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Making her point clear on gendered categories in sport, Emily continued: "If you're arguing that we just have gender neutral categories in all sports, fine. But otherwise you don't have a female category. If you have a female category, then you stick to it being female. If you have a male category, you stick to being a male. If you want no categories at all in your particular sport, and everyone within that sport agrees, that is fine."
Highlighting Emily's point, Tom then pressed: "So what you're doing here is you're trying to say that transgender women are male biologically? Is this just sport that you'd apply it to, or do you want to apply it to every realm of life?"
Reaffirming her argument, Emily concluded: "I'm currently talking about sport, but you won't admit that there's any difference between a transgender female and a female.
"This isn't about bigotry, this isn't about discrimination, this isn't about saying that these transgender women can't live their lives, but they can't compete, in my view, in a female category because they are not female in the same way as a woman is female."
