Rosie Duffield meets Labour leader to discuss transgender issues

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he has spoken to MP Rosie Duffield over the party's stance on transgender issues.

Ms Duffield will not be attending this year's party conference because of online threats to her safety.

The Canterbury MP has clashed with campaigners over her views on self identification for trans people.

Sir Keir said: "The debate must be with integrity, people must be able to come to conference.

"I've spoken to Rosie Duffield on a number of occasions, including this week, to make it absolutely clear that as a matter of principle everybody must be able to attend Labour Party conference and feel safe and secure in doing so."

Trans people 'most marginalised'

Ms Duffield has regularly used social media to outline her own position on transgender issues.

She believes there should be protected spaces where those born male are not allowed to go, such as domestic violence refuges and prisons, and she is against people being able to self-identify as trans to gain access to those spaces.

Speaking to BBC South East ahead of next week's conference in Brighton, Sir Keir said: "The trans communities are among the most marginalised communities... therefore we have to find a way forward, the current legislation I don't think works in the way that it should.

"We should have a process for self-identification, but I'm equally clear that the equalities legislation applies, and that means that in certain circumstances there can be an exemption.

"That's been Labour Party policy, actually common sense, for a long time, and we went through that with Rosie and with others this week."

Analysis

By Charlotte Wright, BBC South East Political Editor

This is an issue that many feel passionately about because it gets to the heart of important themes like gender and identity.

Some, including Ms Duffield, believe spaces like domestic violence refuges should not be accessible to people born male.

Others, like Brighton Kemptown's MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle, say a blanket ban on trans people would be discriminatory.

Sir Keir Starmer says he's sticking to the provision outlined in the 2010 Equality Act.

But some are still calling for more clarity from the Labour leader on how the law should work in practice.

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