Jamie Wallis, Conservative MP for Bridgend and Porthcawl, has come out as transgender, making him the UK’s first openly trans member of Parliament.
After being diagnosed with gender dysphoria, the Conservative backbencher spoke of feeling “this way since I was a very young child”.
In a statement posted on Twitter on Wednesday, Wallis also revealed being blackmailed about the issue soon after being elected, and being raped last year.
It’s time. https://t.co/cbt0tKQZuN pic.twitter.com/IUaCjm9PtE
— Jamie Wallis MP (@JamieWallisMP) March 30, 2022
Mr Wallis said: “I’ve been diagnosed with gender dysphoria and I’ve felt this way since I was a very young child.
“I had no intention of ever sharing this with you. I always imagined I would leave politics well before I ever said this out loud.
“There was a close call in April 2020 when someone blackmailed me, outed me to my father and sent photographs to other family members.
“He wanted £50,000 to keep quiet. The police were so supportive, so understanding and on this occasion the system worked.”
The MP said the man pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years and nine months prison.
“For a while it seemed as though I would be able to get on with things and move on. Being an MP and hiding something like this was always going to be tough, but I arrogantly assumed I was up for it.
“Well, I’m not.”
He continued: “In September I ‘hooked up’ with someone who I met online.
“When I chose to say ‘no’ on the basis that he wouldn’t wear a condom he chose to rape me. I have not been myself since this incident and I don’t think I will ever recover. It is not something you ever forget, and it is not something you ever move on from.”
In a statement published later, Jamie Wallis MP confirmed he will continue to use he/him/his pronouns.
