British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak joked that the leader of the opposition Labour Party could not define what a woman was, which sparked criticisms during a parliamentary exchange with the murdered girl's mother on Wednesday.
A Labour MP asked Brianna Ghey's mother to attend Sunak's monthly question-and-answer session in parliament.
During a conversation with Labour leader Keir Starmer, who had previously claimed that Ghey's mother was watching, Sunak said "defining a woman" was on a list of Starmer's unfulfilled promises and joked that it had been "only 99% of a U-turn."
Starmer responded, "Of all the weeks to say that, when Brianna's mother is in this chamber. Shame. Parading as a man of integrity when he's got absolutely no responsibility."
In response to a question about Starmer's opinions on transgender issues last April, Starmer said that 99.9% of women "of course haven't got a penis." Sunak said, "A man is a man, and a woman is a woman," and criticized Starmer on Wednesday's jibe, saying he "still does not know what a woman, opens new tab is."
According to Sunak's press secretary, the prime minister had been listing Labour's U-turns, and to do so was "totally legitimate." She rejected the idea that the statement was transphobic.
A Labour spokesman told reporters, "We think the comments from him are deeply offensive to trans people, and he should reflect on his response... and apologize." Ghey's mother was scheduled to visit Starmer following the session.
Sunak did not address Starmer's comment or respond to other lawmakers' calls to apologize.
On Wednesday night, Sky News opened a new tab and said that Peter Spooner, the father of the murdered teenager, expressed his dismay at the prime minister's remarks and felt he should apologize for his comments.
Furthermore, Sunak honored Ghey's mother at the end of the session, saying, "What happened was an appalling and devastating catastrophe."
He continued that in the face of that, for the mother to demonstrate the compassion and empathy she did last weekend, he thought he showed the very best of humanity in the face of seeing the worst of humanity. He noted that the mother deserves all their admiration and praise for that.
Teenagers Arrested Over Ghey's Murder
Two teenagers were sentenced to life in prison last week for the murder of Ghey, who was stabbed 28 times with a hunting knife, killing partly motivated by her transgender identity.
Scarlett Jenkinson was given a minimum sentence of 22 years for what the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) called "one of the most disturbing cases" their attorneys had ever worked with. The judge described Jenkinson as the "driving force" behind the murder.
Eddie Ratcliffe, a quiet and reserved former champion kickboxer, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after killing Ghey, an "out and proud" transgender teenager with dreams of becoming a beauty therapist.
The 16-year-old teenagers were initially identified before punishment after the judge lifted reporting restrictions.
Sentencing, Justice Yip said that they both took part in a brutal and planned murder, which was sadistic and where a secondary motive was hostility towards Ghey because of her transgender identity.
