Victim of blackmail, a British Conservative MP, Jamie Wallis, revealed Wednesday March 30 to be trans. He becomes the first politician in the country to openly declare his trans identity, prompting messages of support from his colleagues and even from Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
“I am trans. Or to be more precise, I want to be. I was diagnosed with gender dysphoria and I have felt like this since I was very young,” Jamie Wallis said in a very personal statement posted on Twitter.
It’s time. https://t.co/cbt0tKQZuN pic.twitter.com/IUaCjm9PtE
— Jamie Wallis MP (@JamieWallisMP) March 30, 2022
“I had no intention of sharing this with you,” said the 37-year-old MP, who represents the South Wales seat of Bridgend and Porthcawl. Adding that he had “always imagined that he would leave politics long before he said it out loud.”
A “huge dose of courage” hailed
But Jamie Wallis also said he was “not well” after being blackmailed and raped by someone he met online, saying it was time for him to come clean.
The message was posted after a rally of Tory MPs in which Boris Johnson mocked his Labor opponent Keir Starmer who had recently struggled to answer questions about transgender people. Moreover, the Prime Minister made a point of saluting “the immense dose of courage” that it took for the deputy to “tell this very intimate story”.
Sharing this very intimate story would have taken an immense amount of courage. Thank you @JamieWallisMP for your bravery, which will undoubtedly support others.
The Conservative Party I lead will always give you, and everyone else, the love and support you need to be yourself. https://t.co/Y7VjQOMgkO
—Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) March 30, 2022
Adding to his message of support: “The Conservative Party I lead will always give you and everyone else the love and support you need to be yourself.”
