Gender critical activists have accused MPs of being "openly hostile" and "too close" to trans rights campaigners.

Sex Matters has written to the women and equalities select committee after they rejected Sir Keir Starmer’s pick to be chairman of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

The committee claimed Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson did not have the necessary experience, reports The Telegraph.

While the Government insisted it will still appoint Dr Stephenson to the role, Sex Matters accused the MPs on the committee of being too close to those behind "witch hunts" of gender-critical activists.

Chief executive of Sex Matters Maya Forstater wrote in an open letter: “The committee’s questions relating to sex-based rights and trans rights were, but for a few exceptions, openly hostile to those who hold gender-critical beliefs.

"[They were] ill-informed about the law and unsupportive of the EHRC doing its job of ensuring understanding and enforcement of the Equality Act."

Following the Supreme Court's ruling that a woman is defined by biological sex in law, the letter accused MPs of expressing "approval" for those advocating discrimination against gender-critical women.

It added: "During the meeting its members subjected Dr Stephenson to questions which, had they been asked of a candidate in a regular job interview, could have led to a successful claim of unlawful belief discrimination."

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Trans rights groups had criticised Starmer's choice of Dr Stephenson, with claims that she had associated herself with "groups advocating for the curtailment of trans people’s human rights."

Pride in Labour, an LGBT+ campaign group within the party, wrote: "Dr Stephenson has previously aligned herself with gender-critical ideologies, a position that raises serious doubt about her ability and commitment to protect the rights of trans people.

"This is not a neutral appointment. It is part of a broader pattern of interference in institutions meant to safeguard human rights.

"At a time when the Labour government is actively distancing itself from trans liberation and pandering to transphobic narratives, appointments like this one cannot be viewed in isolation."

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They continued: "[These appointments] are part of a political strategy to redefine 'equality' in narrow, exclusionary terms."

Forstater said those who had been targeted included Sussex University professor Kathleen Stock , Dr Hillary Cass, JK Rowling and ousted Labour MP Rosie Duffield.

She said: "There have been hundreds of documented instances of such witch hunts against women standing up for sex-based rights and dozens of employment claims and tribunals.

"The EHRC current chairman has been targeted since the EHRC began a course correction in order to bring its approach into line with the Equality Act."

In April, judges at the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a woman is defined by biological sex under equalities law.

The announcement was welcomed by gender-critical groups, with For Women Scotland co-founder Susan Smith telling reporters: "The judges have said what we always believed to be the case, that women are protected by their biological sex.

"Sex is real and women can now feel safe that services and spaces designated for women are for women and we are enormously grateful to the Supreme Court for this ruling."

However, LGBT+ groups warned that the decision was not "fair and equal", as Scottish Trans manager Vic Valentine told the BBC: "It reverses 20 years of understanding on how the law recognises trans men and women with gender recognition certificates".

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A poll published by YouGov recently found that LGBT+ Britons are "less likely to feel safe in public than straight Britons."

Out of 2,959 LGBT+ UK residents, 71 per cent of gay men, 66 per cent of lesbian women, 30 per cent of bisexual men and 15 per cent of bisexual women often refrain from showing a romantic partner affection in public due to fear of discrimination.

In the year ending March 2024, there were 22,839 reported hate crimes involving a person’s sexual orientation, and 4,780 registered transphobic hate crimes in the UK.