Health Secretary Wes Streeting is being threatened with legal action if he does not ban the private sale of cross-sex hormones such as testosterone to under 18s.
Lawyers acting for three people – including campaigner Keira Bell – have written to Streeting urging him to introduce a ban as he has done for puberty blockers for children questioning their gender identity.
Ms Bell says her life has been “flipped upside down” by taking the drugs that have some irreversible effects. The other two people involved are parents and wish to remain anonymous.
Cross-sex hormone therapy is used to help people transition to a different gender from the one they were born into.
In December the health secretary announced an indefinite ban on puberty-suppressing drugs for gender dysphoria.
But in a letter sent by Sinclairs Law, Streeting has been told the law firm will seek a judicial review – a way of challenging the lawfulness of a decision by a public body – unless he follows suit with cross-sex hormones.
The lawyers said private clinics are providing these to under 18s, despite the fact that they pose at least an equal risk as puberty blockers.
The letter, seen by the BBC, points to potential health risks to children’s developing brains, bones and reproductive system.
Source: Campaigner launches bid to ban cross-sex hormones for under-18s