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The prime minister has said there should be “extreme caution” about gender treatments as a new report said children are being failed by gender services.

NHS England said it would now pause first appointments at adult clinics for teenagers under 18, and intends to carry out a major review of its adult gender services and use of hormones.

The report by Dr Hilary Cass found that there is “remarkably weak evidence” to support gender treatments for children.

The “toxicity of the debate” is also not helping, with people afraid of discussing transgender issues openly, she said.

The paediatrician criticised the current system in her report on gender identity services for children and young people.

Dr Cass makes 32 recommendations, including that gender services operate “to the same standards” as other children’s health services.

She recommends “extreme caution” and “a clear clinical rationale for providing hormones at this stage rather than waiting until an individual reaches 18”.

The current policy on giving children testosterone or oestrogen from age 16 should also be urgently reviewed, according to Dr Cass.

Addressing young people, she writes: “I have been disappointed by the lack of evidence on the long-term impact of taking hormones from an early age; research has let us all down, most importantly you.”

She said it was also important to ensure parents “are not unconsciously influencing the child’s gender expression”.

Dr Cass also recommends “a holistic assessment” including a mental health assessment and screening for conditions such as autism.

Dr Cass said the 'toxicity' around gender issues was a serious problem. Pic: PA
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Dr Cass says the ‘toxicity’ around gender issues is a serious problem. Pic: PA

‘We have no good long-term evidence’

A review of 50 studies on puberty blockers and 53 on hormone treatments – carried out for the report – found a “lack of high-quality research” into their use in young people.

“The reality is that we have no good evidence on the long-term outcomes of interventions to manage gender-related distress,” said Dr Cass.

The publication comes weeks after NHS England confirmed children would no longer be prescribed puberty blockers outside of research trials.

It’s also less than a fortnight since the much-scrutinised Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) closed in London – with two new hubs to replace it.

The review was commissioned by NHS England four years ago after a steep rise in the numbers seeking help for gender issues.

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The controversial Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) closed last month. Pic: PA

There was particular concern over early medical interventions despite a lack of evidence on their use and long-term impacts.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak welcomed the review, saying: “It aligns with our approach on this issue”.

“Of course we must treat children who are questioning their gender with compassion and sensitivity, but we have to recognise that we need to move with extreme caution in these areas, because we just simply don’t know the long-term impacts of what this all means,” he said.

Laura Farris, the victims and safeguarding minister, told Sky News there would be a “fundamental change of direction” as a result of the review’s findings and that work had started after an interim version of the report.

She said: “We are going to have regional support centres across the UK so that a child who is questioning their gender will be given a holistic package of support – and not just funnelled down an irreversible pathway where they may find that they reach adulthood and then wonder how on earth they were ever allowed to take those steps.”

Concerns report is ‘open to misinterpretation’

Mermaids, a charity that supports transgender young people, said the report “recognises the current system is failing trans youth”.

The charity criticised “appalling waiting lists of more than six years, virtually no first appointments offered for over a year, and increased politicisation of the support offered to children and young people”.

It added: “Trans youth tell us they want services which are accepting and respectful, which offer supportive spaces to explore their gender, and provide access to medical transition if and when they need it.

“We are pleased the voices and experiences of trans young people appear to have been heard and respected, and we welcome Dr Cass’ calls for trans children and young people, and their families, to be ‘treated with compassion and respect’.”

But Mermaids added it also had concerns some of the language in the report is “open to misinterpretation” and “could be used to justify additional barriers to accessing care for some trans young people in the same way the interim report has been”.

“We call on NHS England, and the NHS across the UK, to resist pressures from those who seek to limit access to healthcare, listen to trans youth directly, and act urgently to provide gender services which are timely, supportive and holistic,” the charity added.

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‘Wrong’ services have ‘terribly let down’ children

Dr David Bell, a psychiatrist who authored a critical report about gender services in 2018, told Sky News that Dr Cass’ review makes clear that the affirmation model – accepting when a child expresses that they are transgender – “has been completely the wrong clinical stance”.

“The right clinical stance is neutrality, exploration, understanding all the other multiple problems these children have that are being expressed through distress about their gender,” he said.

“These children have many complex problems and have been terribly let down, first of all by being put on a medical pathway which was inappropriate and which there has been considerable concern about the damage done to children by puberty blockers.

“But also that the other problems that they had were not properly addressed… by clinical services that act in such a way following the ordinary canons of clinical care.

“Instead what’s happened, they were totally captured by trans ideology so it became an ideological issue rather than a clinical issue and it is that that’s caused the damage.”

‘Falling off a cliff edge’

Other recommendations include a “follow-through service” for 17-25-year-olds, with Dr Cass warning teenagers are “falling off a cliff edge” when it comes to care.

She also urged a “more cautious approach” for children than for adolescents when it comes to social transitioning – where someone might change their pronouns, name, and clothing.

The paediatrician said her review was “not about defining what it means to be trans, nor is it about undermining the validity of trans identities”.

However, she cautioned that strong feelings on trans issues were having a damaging effect.

She said experienced clinicians had at times been “dismissed and invalidated” and that young people had been “caught in the middle of a stormy social discourse”.

“There are few other areas of healthcare where professionals are so afraid to openly discuss their views, where people are vilified on social media, and where name-calling echoes the worst bullying behaviour. This must stop,” she wrote.

She warned that “polarisation and stifling of debate” would also hamper essential research in an area with “remarkably weak evidence”.

In response, NHS England said it had made “significant progress” towards establishing a “fundamentally different gender service for children and young people” based on Dr Cass’s earlier recommendations, as well as “extensive public consultation and engagement”.

A spokesperson said: “We will set out a full implementation plan following careful consideration of this final report and its recommendations, and the NHS is also bringing forward its systemic review of adult gender services and has written to local NHS leaders to ask them to pause offering first appointments at adult gender clinics to young people below their 18th birthday.”

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Labour MP Dan Norris arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences

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Labour MP Dan Norris arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences

Labour MP Dan Norris has been arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Dan Norris MP was immediately suspended by the Labour Party upon being informed of his arrest.

“We cannot comment further while the police investigation is ongoing.”

Police said a man in his 60s had been arrested on Friday on suspicion of sexual offences against a girl, rape, child abduction and misconduct in a public office.

Sky News has contacted Mr Norris for comment.

Mr Norris, 65, defeated Jacob Rees-Mogg to win the new seat of North East Somerset and Hanham in last year’s general election.

He has also lost the party whip in the House of Commons and has stepped down from his role as chair of the League Against Cruel Sports.

Avon and Somerset Police said in a statement: “In December 2024, we received a referral from another police force relating to alleged non-recent child sex offences having been committed against a girl.

“Most of the offences are alleged to have occurred in the 2000s, but we’re also investigating an alleged offence of rape from the 2020s.

“An investigation, led by officers within Operation Bluestone, our dedicated rape and serious sexual assault investigation team, remains ongoing and at an early stage.

“The victim is being supported and given access to any specialist help or support she needs.

“A man, aged in his 60s, was arrested on Friday (April 4) on suspicion of sexual offences against a girl (under the Sexual Offences Act 1956), rape (under the Sexual Offences Act 2003), child abduction and misconduct in a public office. He’s been released on conditional bail for enquiries to continue.

“This is an active and sensitive investigation, so we’d respectfully ask people not to speculate on the circumstances so our enquiries can continue unhindered.”

Mr Norris first entered Parliament when Tony Blair came to power in 1997 and served as the Wansdyke MP until 2010.

He was an assistant whip under Mr Blair and served as a junior minister under Gordon Brown.

Mr Norris has also been West of England mayor since 2021 but is due to step down ahead of May’s local elections.

A spokesman for the League Against Cruel Sports, a UK-based animal welfare charity which campaigns to end sports such as fox hunting and game bird shooting, confirmed he had stepped down from his role.

“The charity cannot comment further while an investigation is ongoing,” a statement said.

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Jaguar Land Rover to ‘pause’ US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

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Jaguar Land Rover to 'pause' US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has said it will “pause” shipments to the US as the British car firm works to “address the new trading terms” of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The US president has introduced a 25% levy on all foreign cars imported into the country, which came into force on Thursday.

JLR, one of the country’s biggest carmakers, exported about 38,000 cars to the US in the third quarter of 2024 – almost equal to the amount sold to the UK and the EU combined.

Follow live updates: Trump’s baseline 10% tariff kicks in

In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson for the company behind the Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover brands said: “The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands.

“As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans.”

The company released a statement last week before Mr Trump announced a “baseline” 10% tariff on goods from around the world, which kicked in on Saturday morning, on what he called “liberation day”.

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JLR reassured customers its business was “resilient” and “accustomed to changing market conditions”.

“Our priorities now are delivering for our clients around the world and addressing these new US trading terms,” the firm said.

Trading across the world has been hit by Mr Trump’s tariff announcement at the White House on Wednesday.

All but one stock on the FTSE 100 fell on Friday – with Rolls-Royce, banks and miners among those to suffer the sharpest losses.

Read more: A red wall on Wall Street – but Trump seems to believe it will work out

Cars are the top product exported from the UK to the US, with exports worth £8.3bn in the year to the end of September 2024, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

For UK carmakers, the US is the second largest export market behind the European Union.

Industry groups have previously warned the tariffs will force firms to rethink where they trade, while a report by thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research said more than 25,000 car manufacturing jobs in the UK could be at risk.

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Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

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Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

Two people have died following a fire at a caravan site near Skegness, Lincolnshire Police have said.

In a statement, officers said they were called at 3.53am on Saturday to a report of a blaze at Golden Beach Holiday Park in the village of Ingoldmells.

Fire and rescue crews attended the scene, and two people were found to have died.

They were reported to be a 10-year-old girl and a 48-year-old man.

The force said the victims’ next of kin have been informed and will be supported by specially trained officers.

Officers are trying to establish the exact cause of the blaze.

“We are at the very early stages of our investigation and as such we are keeping an open mind,” the force said.

Two fire crews remain at the scene.

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