Kemi Badenoch, the Business Secretary, last month told MPs that the risk of irreversible damage should see gender-affirming treatment considered a “new form of conversion therapy”.
Speaking in her role as minister for women and equalities, Ms Badenoch warned that doctors are now afraid of being branded transphobic if they do not automatically affirm and medicalise a child’s new gender.
“I don’t think this has anything to do with transphobia at all,” Mr Goodhead said. “I’m a very strong believer in the rights of adults of sound mind being able to do what they want to their own bodies.
“Nor does it mean I think you should be endorsing 13 or 14-year-olds’ views about their own gender identity without going through very, very substantial challenges for what could be life-altering treatment plans.”
However, fears of being caught in toxic culture wars have seen rival law firms avoid taking on gender-critical disputes altogether.
Mr Goodhead said the “ideological barriers” that hold back City businesses have also left many claimants without legal representation and access to justice.
“I quite relish taking those issues forward,” he said. “I think that they relate to fundamental freedoms and protections.”
Mr Goodhead is now considering other legal battles linked to debates over gender-critical beliefs: “I’m very keen over the coming years to use our firm to try and take on issues in causes which might not be traditionally viewed as human rights causes. I still think they are human rights.
“On our Left-Right paradigm, they might fit more on the Right than they do on the Left.”
Mr Goodhead is especially drawn to cases where freedom of speech rights are violated at schools or on university campuses, including where teachers and students are silenced or face disciplinary action for expressing gender-critical beliefs.
The former barrister said his plans are also backed by senior female colleagues who are passionate about defending the rights of biological women, including protecting single-sex spaces.
Fresh concerns around safeguarding were sparked earlier this month after The Telegraph revealed that boarding schools in Hampshire and Somerset allowed trans pupils to stay in dorms of their preferred gender, in breach of government guidelines.
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
