JK Rowling has hit out after Sir Keir Starmer was asked to share his view on the definition of a woman.
The Labour leader took things further than colleagues Yvette Cooper and Anneliese Dodds in recent days as he insisted 'trans women are women' when quizzed in an interview with The Times.
When asked to define a woman, Sir Keir told the paper "A woman is female adult, and in addition to that trans women are women.
"That is not just my view — that is actually the law," he added.
Sir Keir also called for a more "considered, respectful, tolerant debate” about gender.
The statement caught the attention of Harry Potter author Rowling, who has made no secret of her own stance on gender issues, as she claimed the Labour party could 'no longer be counted on to defend women's rights.'
Sharing a link to the interview, Rowling doubled down on her past views and told her Twitter followers that politicians 'did not understand the growing anger among women' on this topic.
She tweeted: "I don’t think our politicians have the slightest idea how much anger is building among women from all walks of life at the attempts to threaten and intimidate them out of speaking publicly about their own rights, their own bodies and their own lives.
"Among the thousands of letters and emails I’ve received are disillusioned members of Labour, the Greens, the Lib Dems and the SNP. Women are scared, outraged and angry at the deaf ear turned to their well-founded concerns. But women are organising.
"Now Keir Starmer publicly misrepresents equalities law, in yet another indication that the Labour Party can no longer be counted on to defend women’s rights. But I repeat: women are organising across party lines, and their resolve and their anger are growing."
Sir Keir called for the Gender Recognition Act to be changed so that transgender people can achieve legal recognition of their gender based on self-declaration, rather than undergo a medical diagnosis.
He told The Times : "The process that people have to go through does need to be looked at. If you talk to anybody who's been through the process there's a real issue about respect and dignity."
This week Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper refused three times to offer up a definition of a woman.
Cooper said she was not prepared to 'go down a rabbit hole.'
The day before, Anneliese Dodds said the meaning of woman 'depended on context.'
Elsewhere in The Times interview Sir Keir was asked about legislation being considered in Scotland, which aims to make it easier for transgender people to be legally recognised as their preferred gender.
The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill sets out proposals to speed up the time it takes to get a gender recognition certificate (GRC), and would also lower the age at which trans people can obtain the document from 18 to 16.
While LGBTI groups have welcomed the reforms, some feminist organisations fear there could be a loss of women-only spaces – such as refuges, hospital wards, toilets and changing rooms – which could then impact women’s safety.
Asked about the Scottish government’s plans, Sir Keir replied: “The Gender Recognition Act needs to be reformed. And I believe in safe spaces for women — I’m very clear about those too.
“I think the 2004 act needs to be reformed, I think the 2010 act, the Equality Act, which does provide for safe spaces for women is right. And therefore I’m very straightforward about this.”
