07 February 2024 , 16:47
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Trans football team TRUK United have demanded Rishi Sunak resign as Prime Minister after he made a jibe about Keir Starmer's position on trans people while the mother of murdered teenager Brianna Ghey was in parliament.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer had welcomed Esther Ghey to the public gallery at the start of Prime Minister's Questions. But Sunak then hit out at Starmer for his stance on "defining a woman", which immediately drew a furious response from the Labour chief.
He replied: "Of all the weeks to say that when Brianna's mother is in this chamber - shame. Parading as a man of integrity when he's got absolutely no responsibility." Sunak's spokesperson has repeatedly refused to apologise for his boss' comment.
Brianna was murdered last year, with the judge in the case citing transphobia as one of the motives when she sentenced the culprits. Now, TRUK United have hit out at Sunak, insisting he is not fit to run the country.
Speaking exclusively to Mirror Football, a club spokesperson said: "He just keeps attacking trans people and using trans people as a weapon. We're human beings, we're part of this country, there's plenty of trans people that live in this country and for him to keep weaponising us to get cheap laughs from his conservative crew is really wrong.
Out of touch Rishi Sunak doesn't regularly read papers or online news sites
"He wouldn't pick on any other demographic. It's just absolutely pathetic. We've suffered so much as it is as a community and lots of the community have got feelings, especially after what happened to Brianna.
"The fact that her mum's sitting in there and what she's been through over the last year. It's nearly the anniversary of Brianna's death and for Sunak to say that is just disgusting. He's not fit to run the country, he's not fit to run a bath, let alone a country."
Trans football team TRUK United have demanded Sunak's resignation for the comment (Lucy Copsey)Incidents of homophobia and transphobia have risen exponentially in the UK. And on behalf of the members of TRUK United, the club have insisted that the UK's transgender population only want to live in peace.
The spokesperson added: "If you've got nothing good to say, don't say anything at all. And if the Prime Minister of the country is dehumanising us, it's not the first time he's done it, it's kind of saying to the uneducated people out there that 'this is ok, let's pick on trans people'.
"We're just out here trying to live our lives. And if we're playing a football match and there are people that listen to his comments, those people might think it is acceptable to come and target us, just because of our identities.
"He should go. He's not fit to run this country. He's not fit for purpose. You can't have people making comments like that running the country. He should resign, pack his bags and get out of No.10 and call a general election.
"The fact that people are calling him out for his comments goes to show how bad he's got it. We just want to live our lives. If it wasn't for the hate, we wouldn't need the support. But we need that support just to drown out all the hate."
In response to questions over why Sunak had brought up the topic of trans people, the PM's spokesperson said: “I think the PM has always been clear that everyone should be treated with dignity and respect. And in the case of Brianna Ghey’s mother, in particular, he is paying tribute to the immense bravery she’s shown at an unimaginably difficult time.”
Downing Street also said it was "legitimate" to question Sir Keir's position on transgender issues. Asked if the prime minister's comment was transphobic, his press secretary said via the BBC: "I don't accept that at all."