The MP for Bridgend made the announcement on Twitter
The prime minister joked about the gender debate at a dinner for Conservative MPs, hours before a Welsh Tory became the first British MP to come out as Transgender.
Boris Johnson mocked Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer for refusing to answer questions on whether a woman can have a penis.
“Good evening ladies and gentleman, or as Keir Starmer would put it, people who are assigned female or male at birth,” he told MPs at the Park Plaza hotel in Westminster.
Later that night Jamie Wallis, the Conservative MP for Bridgend in Wales, said they had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, writing on twitter: “I’m trans. Or to be more accurate, I want to be.”
In a statement, posted on social media in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Wallis said “There’s a lot that goes on in MPs lives and the Whips play an important wellbeing role” in supporting MPs who are having a tough time.
They wrote: “Well they’ve certainly earned their keep with me.
“I’m trans. Or to be more accurate, I want to be. 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.”
Wallis has not yet shared a name change or indicated preferred pronouns.
The statement was posted online shortly before 3am, following the gathering for Tory MPs at which Johnson reportedly joked about Trans issues.
The PM later responded to Wallis’ tweet, congratulating their “courage” and promising “the Conservative Party I lead will always give you, and everyone else, the love and support you need to be yourself”.
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
Last week, the prime minister waded into the Trans debate – telling MPs the “basic facts of biology remain overwhelmingly important” when it comes to distinguishing between a man and a woman.
He also said that “when people want to make a transition in their lives, that they should be treated with the maximum possible generosity and respect,” adding that Britain had a proud history of supporting people who had chosen to transition.
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