Health Secretary James Murray has told Parliament that he remains "uneasy" about a controversial NHS trial giving puberty blockers to children, while MPs raised concerns about the limited support available to patients who later choose to detransition. The admission matters because it exposes ministerial discomfort with a policy the Government is nonetheless allowing to proceed, highlighting the tension between political caution and reliance on clinical advice over a highly contested area of child healthcare.

Murray acknowledged there was a "lack of clinical evidence" on the risks and benefits of the drugs but argued the trial should go ahead "carefully" under intense scrutiny. Questioned by Tory MP Joe Robertson over whether it was "morally or ethically right" to give "powerful drugs to physically healthy children", he described the issue as "difficult" and "uncomfortable", but said ministers had to follow clinical advice and had sought the "highest level of reassurance" over safeguards. He told the Commons health and social care committee that the protocol included automatic triggers for withdrawing participants, alongside monitoring and clinical interventions. Some 226 children, some as young as 11, are due to take part in the trial, which was commissioned by former health secretary Wes Streeting.