The Shadow Energy Secretary has launched a strong attack on Reform UK's prisons adviser's approach to housing transgender inmates in female facilities, describing their position as "deeply disappointing" and a threat to vulnerable women.

Speaking to GB News, Claire Coutinho expressed frustration that Reform UK's Vanessa Frake had suggested trans women could be placed in female prisons, despite the party claiming it is "not party policy".

Frake claimed that "everybody who is in prison deserves to be treated with humanity and decency: that includes female prisoners and it includes trans prisoners".

PA / GB News

Speaking to GB News, she argued that politicians had been "getting into a mess on this for years" and expressed dismay that confusion persisted even after recent legal clarification on single-sex spaces.

The Conservative MP insisted that female prisons must remain exclusively for biological women, pointing to a Supreme Court ruling from earlier this year that affirmed the legality of single-sex spaces.

"We have said very clearly that the Supreme Court judgment, as set out earlier this year, has said that women can have their own spaces and women's prisons are one of those places where we should be very, very clear that it's only for biological women," Coutinho stated.

She emphasised that the Conservatives maintain an unambiguous stance on the issue, arguing there was "no excuse anymore" for political confusion following the court's decision.

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Vanessa Frake has caused tension within Reform UK after claiming that placing trans women in female prisons should be 'considered'

Coutinho drew attention to the particular vulnerability of female inmates, who represent just four per cent of the total prison population. Her previous work with the Centre for Social Justice had revealed that many imprisoned women had suffered domestic abuse and sexual assault.

"Just to give you a sense of how vulnerable that population is, one in three female prisoners self-harm. One in three," she emphasised.

The Shadow Energy Secretary argued that requiring these women to share facilities with others was fundamentally wrong, particularly given their traumatic backgrounds.

She stressed that women should not be expected to make accommodations, especially such a vulnerable group.

GB News

Coutinho firmly rejected Reform UK's approach of using individual risk assessments to determine trans prisoner placement, arguing that institutions tasked with such evaluations have consistently failed to protect women.

"Whether it's nurses changing rooms, whether it's women's prisons where we have seen cases of serious sexual assault happen in women's prisons, whether it's sports and women's podiums, these bodies are meant to know better," she said.

The Shadow Energy Secretary maintained that case-by-case assessments have proven unreliable, with supposed experts repeatedly making decisions that compromise women's safety.

She advocated for clear-cut policies rather than discretionary judgements, suggesting trans women could be housed separately to ensure everyone's protection.