Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make it his policy that police officers should not be able to strip and intimately search suspects of the opposite sex if the police officer self-identifies as the same gender as the person being searched.

There are clear same-sex provisions set out in law in relation to the conduct of certain searches of persons by police officers.

It is not right, safe or respectful to detainees of either sex for officers to conduct such searches on the basis of gender self-identification. All strip and intimate searches must be carried out by an officer of the same sex as the person being searched.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) has confirmed that it has withdrawn its guidance on searches by transgender officers and is conducting a thorough review.