Gillian Keegan has been slapped down by Rishi Sunak after she said 16-year-olds should be allowed to change their gender.
The education secretary made the comment - which is at odds with official government policy - on TV this morning.
It came after the UK government decided to block a law passed at the Scottish Parliament which would have brought in the change north of the border.
Asked if she would be content for children in schools at 16 to say whether they want to change their gender, Keegan told Sky News: “We have to be very sensitive to children. We are actually going to publish some guidance and consult because it is a very tricky area to get right.
“It has to be age-appropriate, but children have to be supported as well.”
Pressed on her personal view, the minister was asked if 16 was too young.
“No I don’t actually. I was working at 16, I was paying tax at 16, I was making decisions for myself at 16,” she replied.
But the prime minister’s official spokesman said: “We consulted on that issue and set out the position that 18 is the correct age for transgender people to change their sex.”
On Keegan’s comments, he said: “She made clear that she was giving her personal view. Obviously that doesn’t impact on the government’s overall position.”
Tory splits over the row burst into the open last night after the UK government announced it was vetoing Scotland’s gender recognition reform bill.
In a statement, the moderate Tory Reform Group described the UK government’s move as “a deeply concerning development”.
“The UK government has not only played into the hands of those who seek to break our Union, but also exposed how lacking its own equalities agenda has become,” the group said.
“Transgender and non-binary lives across the country are at risk of being used to play political games.