Former chief prosecutor says Conversion Practices Bill "contrary to the rule of law"

Lord Macdonald has spoken out against the government’s draft Conversion Practices Bill, saying that the legislation is “contrary to the rule of law”.

The former director of public prosecutions, who led the Crown Prosecution Service from 2003 to 2008, said that the bill was so unclear that parents would not be able to tell if a conversation with their child meant they had broken the law. A principle of the rule of law is that a person should know whether what they are doing is legal or not.

Lord Macdonald told The Telegraph newspaper that everything covered by the draft legislation is already a criminal offence because of existing laws. He argues that new law is a way for transgender lobbyists to change the law “through the back door”. The LGBT charity Stonewall were involved with the design of the draft bill.

The cross-bench peer said: “I don’t think it criminalises anything that isn’t already criminal. The minister in the House of Lords was asked to explain what it was that was presently not criminal… And he said that will come out in pre-legislative scrutiny, which is unprecedented. If the minister can’t explain what it is that’s presently lawful that the bill is going to make unlawful, that means there’s a serious problem with the bill, frankly.”

Lord Macdonald also highlighted the bill’s focus on “the use of psychological or emotional pressure. The problem with that is, when you’re having very sensitive discussions between, for example, parents and their children, or clinicians and their patients, it’s very difficult to understand what that means. There’s a basic principle called legal certainty, which is a very important part of the rule of law, which means that people need to understand when they are breaking the law and when they’re not breaking the law. But I think those concepts of psychological or emotional pressure mean that it would be very difficult for parents to know when they’re talking to their children or for clinicians to know when they’re talking to their patients, whether they’re breaking the law or not. And that is obviously an unacceptable situation. It’s completely contrary to the rule of law.”

Commenting on the pressure from pro-trans groups, he said: “I think there is a lobby pushing hard for this bill, which is the same lobby that wanted to argue in favour of self ID and the rights of trans women – biological males – to use women’s space and so on. I think the lobby that lost those arguments is now using this as a way to try to achieve some of what they wanted to achieve by the back door. It’s the same battle just in a different guise. The problem here is that we’re talking about criminalisation, which is much more serious.”

The joint committee considering the Draft Conversion Practices Bill is currently accepting evidence from the public, as well as those scheduled to appear before the committee.

Since this Bill, as it stands, would risk criminalising parents who express opposition to a teenager exploring gender reassignment, or pastors and youth leaders who hold to regular Christian teaching, you can add your voice to the evidence.

We have put together some practical guidance on how to raise your concerns. The deadline for submissions is on Monday, 16 November.

Click here for more information and details about how to submit evidence.