Calls for a ban on Wild West gender clinics that hand out puberty blockers to children are growing louder

Calls to stop handing out puberty blockers to children in the Wild West intensified last night, ahead of the publication of a long-awaited report into the sector.

Campaigners, including former Prime Minister Liz Truss, called for a ban on prescribing from ‘cowboy clinics’ after the NHS made the decision to stop handing them out last month.

They said frustration over delays and NHS waiting lists had driven vulnerable children into the arms of unregulated private clinics.

The calls come just days before the publication of an independent review of gender identity services for children by Dr Hilary Cass.

Dr. Michael Biggs, professor of sociology at the University of Oxford and board member of the charity Sex Matters, said: ‘Private gender clinics are a law unto themselves and should be banned.

‘These cowboy clinics should not continue to provide medicines to children for which NHS England says there is insufficient evidence to support safety or clinical effectiveness.’

The interim report of Dr. September 2022 Cass warned against routinely prescribing puberty blockers to children. The preliminary findings were adopted by NHS England last month.

But campaigners have warned that nothing can stop children getting the drugs through private clinics and have called for stricter regulations.

Ms Truss, who is campaigning to change the law through a private members bill, accused activists of exploiting existing legislation.

She said: ‘I am deeply concerned that private gender clinics are a Wild West for vulnerable children.

‘Extreme activists are exploiting loopholes in the law to encourage children to take drugs that will permanently change their bodies.’