Backlash as Reform claims trans books removed from children's library section

Kent County Council says it has removed all transgender-related books from the children's sections of its libraries

A council leader has been criticised after claiming the authority had removed transgender-related books from the children's sections of its libraries.

In a post on social media, Kent County Council's Reform UK leader Linden Kemkaran said the books were to be removed with immediate effect in a "victory for common sense in Kent".

However, the council said a single transgender-related book aimed at adults was relocated from a display at the entrance of a library to a section unlikely to be visited by children.

Labour MP for Chatham and Aylesford Tristian Osbourne has called the alleged removal of the books "unedifying gender baiting of the LGBT community".

The BBC earlier asked the Reform-led council and the Reform councillor who oversees libraries for a list of books which had been removed, but received no reply.

However, a council spokesperson said that one book had been moved.

The book in question was The Autistic Trans Guide to Life by Yenn Purkis and Wenn Lawson, the council said.

'Unsafe, unwelcome and silenced'

Steven Pullen, founder and director of Swale Pride, described the move as "deeply upsetting".

"It emboldens anti-trans rhetoric and contributes to a culture where marginalised people feel unsafe, unwelcome and silenced," he said.

Erin Strawbridge, the manager of the Folkestone Bookshop, an LGBTQ+ bookstore, told BBC Radio Kent: "Censorship does not stop people from learning information, but it does send the message, and it's sending a message to the young people of Kent that they're not safe and they're not welcome if they're LGBT or trans.

"It just pushes kids into the closet, into worse mental health situations. It's just going to scare young people."

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrat leader of the opposition at KCC, Antony Hook, said it was "bizarre" that the council leader made the announcement on social media rather than to the council.

Hook said he had written to the head of Kent library services to ask for clarification on the matter.

"The announcement made by Ms Kemkaran is vague. She does not specify what books she is referring to. This needs to be properly explained," he said.

'Feedback from a resident'

Kent County Council said staff at all its libraries had been asked to ensure books were stocked in age-appropriate categories and that no adult literature was displayed in areas specifically aimed at children, or where children would be selecting books, such as the public welcome displays.

"It follows feedback from a resident who spotted a transgender book aimed at adults in a public display at the entrance of one library in Kent," a spokesperson said.

"The book has since been relocated to a section that is unlikely to be visited by children."

The authority, which runs 99 community libraries and five mobile library vans, says its libraries use cataloguing systems, publisher information and content reviews to identify books about transgender topics or by transgender authors.

Paul Webb, Reform UK's communities portfolio holder who oversees libraries, said the alleged removal of transgender-related books from the children's sections of the authorities libraries came after a "concerned member of the public" contacted him.

Defending the decision, Webb said: "In our society, children are quite rightly and properly protected from items and actions that could cause them harm – for example alcohol, cigarettes and gambling.

"My fellow Reform members and I believe that our young people should be protected from exposure to potentially harmful ideologies and beliefs such as those held by the trans lobbyists."

When the BBC asked if Reform UK had carried out an assessment to understand the impact of removing the books, Webb said: "As far as impact assessments are concerned, I would have thought that question should have been asked before these books were placed in the children's section to begin with."

Kemkaran added: "Telling children they're in the wrong body is wrong and simply unacceptable."

Update: This story has been updated to include additional detail and feedback about the policy.