Health minister Karen Smyth says ‘it’s good we have clarity for women’ as Tories call for ruling to be ‘reinforced with legislation’ The co-leader of the Green party of England and Wales, Carla Denyer, has accused the government of treating asylum seekers as “like pawns on a chess board.” Responding to reports that the UK and France are in discussions about a possible migrant return deal, the MP for Bristol Central said: The government is treating human beings like pawns on a chess board, indifferent to the human suffering caused by this inhumane system. Keeping someone apart from their family, who they’re entitled to join in the UK, as a negotiation tactic, is heartbreaking. Government needs to instead step up and offer safe and legal routes to pull the rug from the illegal people smugglers. As it stands, many of those with legitimate asylum claims have no legitimate way of reaching the UK – this intolerable situation cannot be allowed to continue. I think your key word there is compromise. We’ve seen a lot of ill-informed and often quite offensive debate over recent years. I think that this ruling, clarifying that tin he Equality Act that parliament intended, that sex means biological sex, and that other people with other characteristics are also protected, is welcome. And I hope that compromise, working together, is absolutely the order of the day. Continue reading...