Penny Mordaunt criticises ‘smears’ against her Tory leadership campaign

Tory leadership contender Penny Mordaunt has dismissed fresh claims about her views on transgender issues as “smears”.

When asked if she believes that trans people should have to get a diagnosis for gender dysphoria before legally changing their gender, Ms Mordaunt said “yes”.

“I have to say, we all know what’s going on, this is the type of toxic politics people want to get away from,” she added.

“There are a number of smears going on in the papers, that’s not representative of how my party operates.”

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