Labour’s trans conversion therapy bill is ‘contrary to rule of law’, warns former top prosecutor

Former prosecutor Lord Ken Macdonald has warned that Labour’s draft Conversion Practices Bill could conflict with the rule of law because people may not be able to tell when their conduct becomes illegal. His comments focus on proposed terms covering psychological or emotional pressure in sensitive conversations between parents and children or clinicians and patients.

The draft bill is undergoing parliamentary scrutiny and is not yet law. Labour MP Steve Yemm supports banning abusive and coercive practices but says open discussion and legitimate gender-critical beliefs should be protected; the Government says ordinary conversations between parents and children would not be criminalised and that the bill targets severe abuse and gaps in existing law.