The government has backtracked just hours after making a U-turn on plans to introduce a new law to ban conversion therapy.

Only a few hours earlier, a government spokesman had told Sky News that ministers would not ban the practice, but would instead review how existing law can be used more effectively to prevent it.

However, about three and a half hours later, a Downing Street spokesperson told Sky News the government will in fact ban conversion therapy.

But what is conversion therapy, why do people want it banned, and what are politicians’ positions on the matter?

What is conversion therapy?

Also called cure therapy or reparative therapy, conversion therapy refers to any form of treatment or psychotherapy that aims to change a person’s sexual orientation or suppress a person’s gender identity.

Therapies and prayer can be used, while more extreme forms can include “exorcisms, physical violence and food deprivation”, Jayne Ozanne, a former government equality adviser said.

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LGBT charity Stonewall says conversion therapy is based on an assumption that being lesbian, gay, bi, or trans is a mental illness that can be “cured”.

The NHS and other professional bodies have warned all forms of conversion therapy are “unethical and potentially harmful”.

The practice is outlawed in several other countries, with Canada, Germany, Mexico, and Malta all having introduced a full or partial ban.

Multiple US states have also introduced a ban on conversion therapy, although in many cases this does not include religious organisations or counsellors.

What has the UK government’s position been?

In 2017, the government launched a national LGBT survey, which found transgender people were twice as likely to have been offered conversion therapy than gay and bisexual individuals.

The survey received over 100,000 responses, and it led then-prime minister Theresa May to announce her intention to ban the practice the following year as part of her government’s LGBT equality plan.

After his successful Conservative Party leadership campaign, Boris Johnson said in summer 2020 that he would bring forward the proposal to scrap conversion therapy.

But in March 2021, three government advisers – including Ms Ozanne – quit the government’s advisory panel amid concerns progress was not being made on the matter fast enough.

In response, in the last Queen’s Speech in May 2021, the government announced conversation therapy would be banned after a public consultation.

Mr Johnson said these “abhorrent practices” can cause mental and physical harm.

What have ministers said?

Following the Queen’s Speech last May, minister for women and equalities Liz Truss said: “As a global leader on LGBT rights, this government has always been committed to stamping out the practice of conversion therapy.”

She also reiterated that no move would be made until the consultation had concluded.

On Wednesday, the day before Downing Street’s U-turn, equalities minister Mike Freer had assured MPs that the government was “wholly committed” to legislation outlawing the practice.

Reports overnight suggested neither Mr Freer nor Ms Truss had been told of the decision not to go ahead with the ban before it was announced and then reversed on Thursday evening.

UPDATE: Boris Johnson has u-turned again after the strength of feeling and will ban conversion therapy for cisgender lesbian, gay and bisexual people but not trans people.

It’s still not good enough. LGB comes with the T, and the Tories are not on our side.

What have MPs said?

Conservative chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee Caroline Nokes told Sky News “it is massively important” that the government upholds the commitments made to ban conversion therapy.

Fellow Tory MP Alicia Kearns said not banning the practice would be “incompatible” with her party’s defence of “individual freedoms”.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told broadcasters on Friday: “All conversion therapy in all its forms is wrong. The government should just keep to its promises on this.”

He also suggested the double U-turn was a dead cat strategy to try to distract from the cost of living increases.

Shadow women and equalities secretary Anneliese Dodds said: “A government that believes conversion therapy is acceptable in 21st century Britain is no friend of the LGBT+ community.”

Fellow Labour MP Chris Bryant, who is gay, added: “Everyone has a right to a life lived to its full potential. While conversion therapy continues, many will only know grief.”

Calls for transgender people to be included in the ban

Labour MP Nadia Whittome said the ban is “still not good enough” if it does not include transgender people, adding: “LGB comes with the T, and the Tories are not on our side.”

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting posted on social media: “There is no such thing as conversion ‘therapy’.

“If it is abusive and harmful for lesbian, gay and bisexual people, it is harmful to trans people, too. It should be outlawed full stop.”

Human rights charity the Peter Tatchell Foundation said, “a ban on conversion therapy that is not trans-inclusive is not a genuine ban at all”.

This sentiment was echoed by The Rainbow Project, which said any ban that didn’t include transgender people was “not a real ban”.

Welcome news. This could have been the most religiously repressive UK law in centuries. #letuspray https://t.co/TZTkZ0OFUQ

Who has concerns?

Keira Bell started taking puberty blockers aged 16 after being referred to the Tavistock and Portman Trust, but regrets transitioning to a male and brought a legal case to the Trust, alleging they should have challenged her more.

Her lawyer, Paul Conrathe, told Sky News that conversion therapy “protects children from the controversial and contested claims of gender ideology”.

He said: “The government’s decision is welcome as it protects children from the controversial and contested claims of gender ideology.

“By prioritising the welfare of children, it enables parents and clinicians to work with children who may be suffering from gender dysphoria without fear of falling foul of the criminal law.”

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But the Christian Institute said the initial reports that the government was to ditch the proposed ban on conversion therapy was “welcome news”.

They said the ban could breach the European Convention on Human Rights.

Earlier this year, the UK’s largest evangelical body warned that a widespread ban of conversion therapy could end up criminalising church leaders.

The Evangelical Alliance, which says it represents 3,500 churches, said the ban could restrict religious freedom.

In March this year, a letter signed by 2,500 church ministers and pastoral workers said imposing a ban on conversation therapy would breach their legal rights.

The letter to Ms Truss said: “Legislating against such a bizarrely broad category is clearly not viable and strongly risks criminalising us as we fulfil our compassionate duties as Christian ministers and pastors. This would be a clear breach of our legal right to manifest our religion.”

The Evangelical Alliance has consistently called on the government to honour its two commitments on conversion therapy – to end coercive and abusive practices while ensuring people can receive the prayer and spiritual support they choose. Let’s work together to make that happen.

How many people have experienced conversion therapy?

A national LGBT survey done by the government in 2017 suggested that 5% of LGBT people have been offered conversion, and 2% have undergone the therapy.

These figures were higher among trans people, with 8% saying they had been offered the therapy, and 4% reporting having undergone it.

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