Sir Keir Starmer today admitted to having 'concerns' about a new Scottish law lowering the age at which teenagers can alter their legal gender.

The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill will allow trans people to obtain a gender recognition certificate without the need for a medical diagnosis from the age of 16.

Nicola Sturgeon's SNP won a vote at Holyrood in December that set up a showdown with the UK government, which is considering whether to prevent it from becoming law.

Scottish Labour voted in favour of the law change but the UK leader today said that while he believed the laws overall needed 'modernising', he opposed lowering the age from 18.

Asked on the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme about whether someone was old enough to change their gender at 16, he said: 'No, I don't think you are.'

He added: 'I have concerns about the provision in Scotland, in particular the age reduction to 16 and in particular the rejection of our amendment in relation to the Equalities Act.

'But across the whole of the area, I think we should modernise the law.

'I think we need a respectful debate that recognises the different arguments that are being made. At the moment, this is being treated as a political football from start to finish and I don't think that actually advances the cause of anyone.'

Critics have claimed that under Ms Sturgeon's 'self-ID' bill, anyone who legally changed their gender in Scotland would be recognised as the opposite sex in the rest of...

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