JK Rowling unleashes on shameless politicians who refuse to apologise for 'siding with the issuers of death and rape threats' against trans row campaigners - as Keir Starmer u-turns and finally admits he DOESN'T believe trans women are women
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JK Rowling tonight accused Sir Keir Starmer of showing a lack of remorse amid the PM's embarrassing U-turn on gender.
The Harry Potter author, 59, said she is 'one of millions of women disgusted' and vowed she would not forget.
Sir Keir earlier today flipflopped on his position on gender following the landmark Supreme Court ruling last week as he said a 'woman is an adult female'.
It sparked an angry response from Rowling who labelled those who could only now 'muster the truth' as 'cowards'.
She tonight posted a picture on X of Sir Keir and other Labour MPs - including Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Angela Rayner - with previous quotes they have made in support of transgender women.
Rowling accused them of siding 'with the persecutors' as she wrote: 'Will any of them issue an apology or admit that they made a serious error in siding with well-funded activist groups lying about what the law actually said, and which had measurable, severe impact on some of society's most vulnerable women?'
The author, who has repeatedly clashed with Sir Keir on gender issues, added: 'Women have fought (and are still fighting) the single biggest land grab on their rights in my lifetime.
'Some have sacrificed their livelihoods and safety to combat a pernicious ideology that has infiltrated elite institutions, including government.
'Women have been persecuted, harassed, smeared, roughed up and forced to take employers to court for discrimination.
'They've suffered severe detriments purely for believing what the Supreme Court has ruled to be reasonable and correct: that women are a definable biological class that has specific rights under the law to which males, however they identify, are not entitled.
'Do these politicians have any shame? They sided with the persecutors, the issuers of death and rape threats, the violent men demanding access to women's and girls' protected spaces, including domestic abuse shelters, rape crisis centres and prison cells.'
Rowling's front footed attack comes on the back of her being branded 'bigoted' and an 'obsessed billionaire' by Potter star Sean Biggerstaff for her transgender views.
Biggerstaff showed his solidarity with the wizarding franchise's leading stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, who have all spoken out against Rowling.
He starred alongside the trio in first two Harry Potter movies - The Philosopher's Stone and the Chamber of Secrets - and returned for a brief, uncredited cameo in the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.
Though distancing himself from Rowling herself and forthrightly speaking out against her, Biggerstaff remains involved with the wider Harry Potter universe and often attends fan conventions, doing so as recently as February of this year.
In his diatribe against Rowling, Biggerstaff responded to her controversial post about the Supreme Court ruling, in which she raised her glass and smoked a cigar on a $150million superyacht in celebration.
After the billionaire author was hit by accusations she was 'smoking a blunt', she hit back on social media, clarifying that it was 'objectively, provably and demonstratively a cigar'.
Responding to her post, Biggerstaff claimed she had no sense of humour about the comments, writing: 'Bigotry rots the wit.'
Sir Keir was asked by local media this morning to repeat his previous statement that 'transwomen are women'.
Instead he replied: 'I think the Supreme Court has answered that question.'
Asked if that means he does not believe a transwoman is a woman, he told ITV West Country: 'A woman is an adult female, and the court has made that absolutely clear.
'I actually welcome the judgment because I think it gives real clarity. It allows those that have got to draw up guidance to be really clear about what that guidance should say.
'So I think it's important that we see the judgment for what it is. It's a welcome step forward.
'It's real clarity in an area where we did need clarity, I'm pleased it's come about.
'We need to move and make sure that we now ensure that all guidance is in the right place according to that judgment.'
Pressed afterwards whether Sir Keir still believed that a transgender woman was a woman, the PM's official spokesman said: 'No, the Supreme Court judgment has made clear that when looking at the Equality Act, a woman is a biological woman.
'That is set out clearly by the court judgment.'
In March 2022, before entering No10, Sir Keir told The Times that 'a woman is a female adult, and in addition to that trans women are women, and that is not just my view — that is actually the law'.
Equalities minister Bridget Phillipson told BBC Breakfast: 'I do welcome the clarity that the Supreme Court judgment has brought in this area, making clear that biological sex is the basis on which single-sex spaces are provided.'
She said there would be more guidance for schools on gender-questioning children and 'the heart of everything we do has to be about making sure that children's wellbeing is supported, but also that school leaders in particular have the clarity and guidance that they want'.
She said there would be more guidance for schools on gender-questioning children and 'the heart of everything we do has to be about making sure that children's wellbeing is supported, but also that school leaders in particular have the clarity and guidance that they want'.
Ms Phillipson added: 'We recognise and believe in the importance of single-sex spaces.
'Before I was a Member of Parliament I used to run a women's refuge, so I know more than most how essential it is that women, particularly those who've experienced sexual violence and male abuse, are able to have safe, therapeutic environments, and that's why there has always been protection there within the law for single-sex spaces.
'There has been some confusion. I'm glad that's been cleared up, because providers can now operate with absolute confidence in delivering single-sex spaces for biological women.'
Ms Phillipson said trans women should use male toilets, but suggested that businesses should ensure 'they have appropriate provision in place', which could mean unisex facilities.
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