Culture Secretary says elite women's events should be 'reserved for people born of female sex'

Nadine Dorries told the heads of UK sporting bodies thatelite and competitive women's sport should be reserved for people born of the female sex.

Dorries met representatives from a number of sports.

Swimming's world governing body voted to stop trans athletes from competing in elite events if they have gone through the male puberty process.

Tom said he isurious at the decision.

In April, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he didn't think trans women should compete in sporting events.

The governing bodies were urged by Dorries to adopt the government's stance on the issue.

She said that a clear direction is needed that protects and shows compassion to all athletes and encouraged them to move to a position where fairness takes priority in competitive sport.

A category for swimmers whose gender identity is different than their birth sex is being planned by the organization.

No matter where you came from, sport is for everyone. Dorries said that it allows people to come together and perform on a level playing field.

The government has a lot of compassion for people who are not recognised. Sex can affect a person's athletic performance. It's unfair to ask women and teenage girls to compete against someone who is biologically male.

The support of our domestic governing bodies to protect and show compassion to all athletes is something I welcome. We need to bring clarity to protect the future interests of sport.

The governing bodies said that they are carrying out their own research to determine the impact of sex at birth and gender reassignment on athletic performance.

Later in the summer, UK Sport and UK England will report on progress.

A report by a scientific panel said that going through male puberty meant trans women retained a "relative performance advantage over biological females".

Sharron Davies, who was a swimmer for Great Britain, said she was proud of her daughter.

The new policy was called "discriminatory, harmful, unscientific and not in line with the 2021 IOC principles" by 'Athlete Ally'.

The governing body of cycling, the UCI, has changed its rules.

The International Rugby League does further research on its policy regarding the exclusion of trans players from women's internationals.

The inclusion policies of other world governing bodies are currently being reviewed.

According to Lord Coe, the sport could follow swimming's example and adopt a new eligibility policy.