Bank offers counselling for trans staff after PM’s speech

LLOYDS BANK is offering its trans and non-binary staff counselling after Rishi Sunak told the Conservative Party conference that “a man is a man and a woman is a woman”.

An email apparently from a human resources manager at the bank calls the language “shocking” and offers “allyship and support to anyone affected”.

Senior Tory MPs have criticised the response, suggesting that staff were being castigated for their political views and that it was symptomatic of a wider issue with the banking industry.

The email, seemingly sent out by Sarah Underhill, the bank’s people manager, and published by the Guido Fawkes website, reads: “Like many of you, I was appalled to hear the rhetoric coming from the Conservative Party conference this week, targeting the trans and non-binary community.

“Hearing language that fuels hate and division is shocking.

“This is a moment that matters and I would ask that, as a community, we come together to offer allyship and support to anyone affected.”

Alexander Stafford MP, a former member of the business and trade select committee, said: “This is clearly a bizarre and damning move from the bank. They clearly have learnt nothing from the debanking scandal. And by villainising people for their genuine political views they are undermining any ESG [[environmental, social, and governance] credentials they purport to have.”

The bank declined to comment.