Tennant suggested at an awards show he wanted a world where the equalities minister “doesn’t exist any more”, and that she should “shut up”. The Prime Minister said: “Freedom of speech is the most powerful feature of our democracy. “If you’re calling for women to shut up and wishing they didn’t exist, you are the problem.
” Freedom of speech is the most powerful feature of our democracy. If you’re calling for women to shut up and wishing they didn’t exist, you are the problem. — Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he would “wouldn’t have engaged in the way that he (Tennant) did”.
He told broadcasters: “I think in politics, as in life, it’s really important that we are able to robustly disagree with others. “Obviously, that happens a lot in the General Election campaign, but we should do it with respect for everybody involved in that robust discussion.” Tennant won a prize for being a “celebrity ally” at the British LGBT Awards last week and used his speech to target the equalities minister.
Ms Badenoch has faced criticism over her approach to trans rights. Mr Tennant said in his acceptance speech: “If I’m honest I’m a little depressed by the fact that acknowledging that everyone has the right to be who they want to be and live their life how they want to live it as long as they’re not hurting anyone else should merit any kind of special award or special mention, because it’s common sense, isn’t i.