News you need, the perspective you won’t find anywhere else. The trans community’s guide to UK news, media and politics and our place in it.

28 July 2025

Hello! Having spent the past few months trying to work out the best way to continue with the Trans Agenda after burning out and needing a break, I’ve settled on going back to daily, five days a week. Doing it once a week was a massive undertaking for my ADHD brain, and it also meant there was a lot for you to wade through, with some of it already be ‘out of date’ by the time it reached your inboxes.

The Trans Agenda by Lee Hurley is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Just to be helpful, those five days won’t be the same every week, but will co-ordinate with my main job, which usually sees me rotate having Tuesday/Wednesday and Thursday/Friday off. This week, it’s Thursday/Friday, so the Trans Agenda, news and clips allowing, will be out Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. If there’s no edition, I’m either taking the day off or there is nothing to report, which does occasionally happen.

NEWS

UK & IRELAND

Media largely ignore largest Trans Pride event in history [Guardian]

  • As is their want, the majority of the British printed press ignored 100,000 people marching for trans rights in London at the weekend in what is being described as the largest event of its kind ever to take place.


    The BBC eventually threw up an article but buried it on their second page while the Telegraph also provided some coverage in their Monday edition, crafting an entire attack article based on a few signs at the parade. You can see that below in today’s paper round up.

Trans Kids Deserve Better stage die-in outside Supreme Court [Trans Kids Deserve Better]

  • 12 young activists from Trans Kids Deserve Better staged a powerful die-in outside the Supreme Court, protesting the ruling defining “woman” solely by birth sex and excluding trans people from single-sex spaces. Carrying a coffin marked “dignity”, they marched in black, with their own police escort, from the Department of Health, highlighting the government’s erasure of trans kids’ rights. In a passionate speech, activist Imogen said: “We were promised safety, autonomy and a voice, but our dignity is dead… we will fight for every child who deserves a future.” The protest denounced government inaction, NHS restrictions and policies that silence and endanger them.

Toilet rules risk closing museums, warn Scottish cultural leaders [The National]

  • Museums Galleries Scotland has warned that Equality and Human Rights Commission proposals to ban trans people from using toilets matching their gender could force some museums to close or leave trans visitors without any facilities. The body criticised the EHRC guidance for focusing solely on exclusion, with no advice on how to support trans inclusion. It warned this could lead to humiliating “sex checks” by staff, an unsafe environment for all visitors, and increased harassment. Their response urged the EHRC to rethink its approach, arguing the guidance risks breaching human rights and damaging Scotland’s inclusive cultural sector.

MEDIA

Keir Starmer firmly in bed with The S*n and Rupert Murdoch

  • In the same week that it was revealed that ex S*n Editor, David Disnmore, will be taking up a communications role in Starmer’s government, Private Eye (1654) revealed just how close the Labour leader has got to the paper he once said he wouldn’t even give an interview to.

    In addition to writing for The S*n, and praising the publication, Starmer has held meetings with Lachlan Murdoch, in line to take over his father’s empire and drag it even further right.

    Starmer also attended the Murdoch’s Annual summer party, along with Wes Streeting and Rachel Reeves. There was also a private lunch.

    Meanwhile, The Eye also report that Murdoch darling, and News UK chief executive, Rebekah Brooks, still hates Starmer’s guts. Why? He was DPP when she was charged, alongside her then-lover, for phone hacking, among other things. She was acquitted at trial while Andy Coulson was found guilty.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Global allies unite for Pride as US and UK remain silent [Attitude]

  • Foreign ministries from Canada, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, and several European nations including Spain, Belgium and Ireland issued a joint Pride Day statement affirming LGBTQIA+ rights and condemning “violence, criminalisation, stigmatisation or discrimination”. The statement pledged to “speak and act as one” amid rising anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment.

    Notably, the United States and United Kingdom declined to sign.

Shabana Mahmood delighted to taser prisoners [Times]

  • In Monday’s edition of the Times, they covered the story that anti-trans Mahood has given the green light to a trial in prisons that will see prison officers armed with tasers. As you can see in the image of her below, as she holds what appears to be a taser, she is delighted by the whole thing.

ICYMI

  • The trans rights stitch-up – How government plans to silence debate on the new rules [Ian Dunt]

Today’s papers on trans people

The Times [1]

There are many things about this article that make it instantly dismissible. Firstly, it’s in The Times. Secondly, it’s written by Sanchez Manning who seems to be employed to do nothing other than hate trans people, and thirdly it also features Sharron Davies, aka Swim Glinner, and Su Wong from the anti-trans group SEEN.

The article continues a trend that has taken hold in these papers since the Supreme Court ruling, talking about organisations ‘breaking the law’ in regards to bans which aren’t in place, as this article itself notes. After an opening paragraph that reads, ‘The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has been accused of breaking the law by encouraging clubs to let transgender women play in female competitions’, Manning writes, ‘The ban, however, did not extend to social tournaments and the club contests in which many female grassroots players compete.’

Anger over tennis chiefs’ trans policy Sanchez Manning - Social Affairs Correspondent Sharron Davies posted on X that the LTA position was “insane and illegal” The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has been accused of breaking the law by encouraging clubs to let transgender women play in female competitions. Britain’s national governing body for tennis banned trans women from competing in the women’s category for most domestic tournaments last January. The ban, however, did not extend to social tournaments and the club contests in which many female grassroots players compete. The LTA ruled in an update of its trans and non-binary policy that it was at the discretion of the individual clubs as to whether trans women could take part in “non-specified competitions”. The guidance goes a step further by encouraging clubs to let transgender women participate in female competitions. It states: “We strongly encourage venues to start from a presumption of being inclusive for trans and non-binary players by ensuring they provide competitive opportunities which allow them to take part in the category which matches their gender identity.” Campaigners lobbying for sporting categories to remain single-sex claim the LTA’s policy is “unlawful” following the Supreme Court judgment in April that the legal definition of a “man” and a “woman” refers to their biological sex. After this judgment many sporting bodies moved to ban trans women from female categories. Su Wong, from the Sports and Entertainment Equity Network (Seen), said the LTA had failed to adjust its policy to the Supreme Court ruling. Sharron Davies, the former Olympic swimmer who has campaigned on the issue, wrote on X: “This is an insane & illegal position by the LTA.” A senior LTA source said clubs should be able to set their own rules. He added that it would be “nonsensical” if a club for LGBTQ people could not hold a competition for trans players. A spokesman for the LTA said it would keep the policy under review. The Equality and Human Rights Commission said it would address in due course the rules about when competitive sports can be single sex.

Telegraph [1]

  • While a lot has been said about most news outlets ignoring Trans Pride in London, the Telegraph did not. This entire article is based on signs people held. It quotes rent-a-gob cis-het anti-trans activist, Helen Joyce, who said the signs revealed the “central hatred of women is to trans activism”. She then added, “One side in this debate stands up for everyone’s rights to safety, dignity, and privacy in single sex spaces.


    “The other calls for violence against women. It shouldn’t be hard for politicians and public figures to decide which side they are on.”


    It shouldn’t be, and yet so many people like Joyce make it so.

We must be armed, say ‘odious’ trans activists after court ruling The Daily Telegraph28 Jul 2025By Telegraph Reporter TRANS activists have called for their community to be “armed” after a Supreme Court ruling barred biological men from women-only spaces. A protester on the London Trans+ Pride march on Saturday carried placards reading: “DIY or Die. Trans emancipation. Not rainbow capitalism. Arm trans people.” Another sign read: “Bitch trolls from hell,” with pictures of JK Rowling and the bosses of For Women Scotland, who won the Supreme Court case against the Scottish Government on gender in April. The march to Parliament Square Gardens was the biggest annual trans protest in the UK, with about 100,000 people in attendance, according to organisers. The ruling from the Supreme Court redefined “biological sex” in a way that enables the exclusion of trans women from single-sex spaces and services. Organisers said this year’s message was centred on the theme of “existence and resistance”. Its key demands included an outright ban on conversion therapy, fully funded gender-affirming healthcare and a legal acknowledgement for non-binary people. Helen Joyce, the director of advocacy for human rights charity Sex Matters, which campaigns for clarity about biological sex in law and life, said the signs revealed the “central hatred of women is to trans activism”. She said: “The reason this movement treats JK Rowling and the grassroots campaigners of For Women Scotland as enemies is simply that they dare to say no to men who want to transgress wom- en’s boundaries. “One side in this debate stands up for everyone’s rights to safety, dignity, and privacy in single sex spaces. “The other calls for violence against women. It shouldn’t be hard for politicians and public figures to decide which side they are on.” Susan Hall, the leader of the Conservatives in the London Assembly, said: “If trans activists are claiming that they should be armed and are calling JK Rowling [a wonderful woman] and women activists bitches in hell, then they can’t be surprised when people don’t take them seriously and in fact are repelled by their odious stand.” Trans activists have called on Sir Keir to back transgender rights after Sir Sadiq Khan supported the march. The Mayor of London wrote on X: “Today, our capital proudly marks seven years of London Trans+ Pride. “As trans rights come under increasing pressure across the UK, this year’s march is a vital reminder: London is a city that stands for equality, dignity and pride – for everyone.” The Prime Minister signed up to a pledge “that trans women are women” when he was a Labour leadership candidate, but seemed to change his position following the Supreme Court ruling. “The Supreme Court judgment has made clear that when looking at the Equality Act, a woman is a biological woman,” his spokesman said in April. Vicky Lee, the director and founder of the Way Out Club, said: “Over the last 32 years, I have been a Labour Party member and a diversity adviser for the Metropolitan and City of London Police. “I was proud of where we were under Tony Blair with LGBT liaison officers in every London borough, anti-trans hate policies, trans inclusivity, and trans rights. Keir Starmer, I can tell you now, under your watch, we have lost 15 years of progress. Trans people are now lost, scared and angry. Trans Pride on Saturday is a celebration, but this year it will also be a protest. “Please listen to the community of unique trans people. We are also nurses, doctors, scientists, lawyers, soldiers, and voters.” Article Name:We must be armed, say ‘odious’ trans activists after court ruling Publication:The Daily Telegraph Author:By Telegraph Reporter Start Page:8 End Page:8

News Letter [3]

The News Letter is the oldest, continuously published English language newspaper in the world, so it is to its eternal shame that it has still not managed to leave the 18th century when it was founded.

With the world falling apart, they have decided that 12 children, who *might* have been seen at the gender clinic over the course of a decade is the biggest issue today and have splashed it across their front page.

Leaving aside that none of these children would have received treatment s they define it, despite what the News Letter claim in their subhead, they go on to print a full page of attacks on the LGBTQ+ community following Belfast Pride at the weekend, just to prove who they really are.

Their front page ‘story’ does, however, highlight some very concerning figures about the state of trans health care here for young people (and everyone else). A Belfast Health Trust FOI confirmed 438 under-18s have accessed Northern Ireland’s gender identity service since 2014, including between nine and 36 children under 10. The ‘peak’ year was 2015, when 68 young people were accepted, with numbers gradually declining since.

In 2024, 22 under-18s used the service.

The front page of the News Letter dated Monday, July 28, 2025. The main headline reads “Kids aged just five are NI trans patients” with a subhead, “As many as 12 have been treated in past decade”. The page also features an image of a man in an apple processing facility above the headline “Bramley cream of crop” and smaller features including “Vigils for tragic family” and “Britishness something to be proud of”. The overall tone of the front page is dominated by the trans healthcare story.
A double-page spread from the News Letter showing multiple articles focused on Belfast Pride and related political controversy. The main headline on the left page reads “Political protest curtails guest list at Pride parade” with a large photo of people marching in Belfast Pride under balloon letters spelling “PRIDE”. Below that, another headline reads “New clinic ‘will boost protest numbers’” alongside a photo of a man holding a Christian protest sign reading “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” On the right page, two main articles are visible: “Mock Christ figure ‘danced down streets’” with a photo of a Pride flag and the same balloon “PRIDE” letters, and “Criticism of SDLP over Pride presence” featuring a small headshot of a woman. The overall theme of the spread focuses on Pride, religious protest and political response.
New clinic ‘will boost protest numbers’ Christians demonstrating against Belfast Pride predicted last week’s controversy over a surprise £800,000 gender identity service will see large-scale protests next year. Held outside city hall, the protestors gave speeches against the LGBT movement and sin in general, citing scripture as the Pride parade passed on the opposite side of Wellington Place blasting pop music and club hits. The protest was smaller than usual, down to around 25 people – roughly half the amount who made their presence felt a couple of years ago, the News Letter was told. “Our numbers are small this year, but we believe God would have us be here to witness for Him,” said Raymond Stewart, who has been attending anti-Pride protests for two decades. From his perspective, the protest is necessary to show the continuing stand of Christians against LGBT ideology, which he says was rampant home last week with the news Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has decided to fund an £800,000 “gender identity service” in Northern Ireland. Details on that service are so far scarce; its existence was apparently revealed by LGBT group the Rainbow Project during the week, with a statement from the minister only coming after a News Letter enquiry. There is no lower age limit for it, and the move to set it up has caused unease within the UUP. Mr Stewart said: “The situation here is getting worse. The whole trans element in the [Pride] parade is frightening, and it’s frightening that Mike Nesbitt has decided to put up a transgender clinic. “The Ulster Unionist Party needs to wake up on this and call Mike Nesbitt out on it, because the electorate are not going to want it. Puberty blockers, those are destroying the lives of children and causing mayhem among families.” Mr Stewart predicted that an outcry over the gender identity service would see a substantial increase to the Christian protest’s numbers at next year’s Pride. “I would hope so,” he said. “I would hope that more Christians would waken up and see that people are standing up for the Lord Jesus Christ and for His gospel, and against the wickedness that this whole thing brings for our society.” A Christian protestor at Saturday’s Pride march
Trans figures revealed By Adam Kula adam.kula@newsletter.co.uk @News_Letter Children as young as five have been accepted as patients of Northern Ireland’s specialist transgender health service, the News Letter can reveal. The news comes after it was revealed last week that Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has committed extra funding for trans patients. The figures were obtained via a Freedom of Information request to the Belfast Health Trust, which runs the service. It sent the News Letter a breakdown of the under-18s who were accepted as patients at its Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) since 2014. This shows that the peak year for under-18 patients being accepted onto the service was 2015, when 66 were accepted. The numbers have steadily declined since, and the figure for 2024, the most recent full calendar year, was 22. The total number of under-18s accepted by the service from 2014 to 2024 was 438. In terms of the youngest patients’ age, somewhere between three and five-year-olds have been accepted onto the service from 2014 to June 2025 (the trust refuses to divulge exact figures). In all, from 2014 to June 2025 the number of children beneath the age of 10 who have been accepted onto the service is somewhere between nine and 36. The trust also broke down its patient numbers by male and female – but the results are impossible to make sense of, because it is unclear if they refer to patients’ self-declared gender identity or their actual biological sex. In a move announced by the Department of Health but by trans lobbyists too, such as the Rainbow Project, it emerged investment was being made in trans services. When prompted for details, the department issued a statement from Mr Nesbitt which said: “I am committed to improving wider gender identity service provision for children, young people and adults in Northern Ireland. “Since 2019, my officials have worked closely and collaboratively with the Belfast HSC Trust, the Gender Identity Review Group, and Gender Identity Liaison Group to develop a business case for the expansion of the Gender Identity Lifespan service.” Though the statement spoke of an “expansion”, suggesting an existing service of that name is already running, Googling ‘Gender Identity Lifespan’ and ‘Northern Ireland’ brings up no information. Mr Nesbitt continued: “This investment capacity will increase to allow the most urgent referrals to receive the appropriate care they need in a timely way. “The funding investment will also provide much-needed additional medical and nursing resources into the service. “£806k funding will be allocated to Belfast trust in the coming weeks.” In addition to revealing under-18 patient numbers, the Belfast trust has also indicated to the News Letter that it has given triptorelin to children as a puberty blocker. The same drug has been used to suppress the urges of sex offenders – a practice sometimes referred to as “chemical castration”. However, it refused to provide the full list of puberty blocking drugs which it has used, stating that it would take too long to compile. The prescription of puberty blockers has now been emphasised across the UK, amid concerns about their long-term health effects and children’s ability to consent to taking them. Mike Nesbitt is giving more money to transgender services

The Trans Agenda by Lee Hurley is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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