Harry Potter author JK Rowling has hosted a Kent MP at lunch with some of the country's most prominent feminists and women's rights activists.

The renowned writer invited Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield to the event, with the two having united over - and come under fire for - their views on who should be able to identify as a woman.

Today, Ms Rowling posted a photograph to her 14 million Twitter followers, showing herself and Ms Duffield in conversation together.

She captioned it: "Two ex-single mums now united for women’s rights", adding the hashtag "#RespectMySex".

The photo was taken at a lunch hosted by Ms Rowling, and attended by a number of women's rights activists backing a 'Respect My Sex' campaign.

Other attendees include Kathleen Stock, who left her job as a philosophy professor at the University of Sussex after being accused of "transphobia".

Ms Rowling tweeted: "There was a lunch and I'm not saying I've only just sobered up enough to type this tweet but at the same time, I'm not not saying that."

Ms Duffield - Kent's only Labour MP - has been embroiled in a row surrounding trans rights for the past two years, having previously stated that "only women have a cervix".

She has faced a torrent of criticism from those who argue her views undermine the transgender population.

She argues she is "not remotely transphobic", but opposes the idea of “male-bodied biological men” being allowed to self-identify as female in order to access women-only spaces such as prisons and domestic violence refuges.

Ms Duffield is herself a survivor of domestic violence - something she has spoken about openly in the House of Commons.

Ms Rowling has also come under fire for her views on gender identity.

She previously appeared to take issue with the use of the phrase "people who menstruate", adding: "I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?"

Responding to the photo of the author and MP, some Twitter users praised them for having been single mothers, and for their stance on women's rights.

One Twitter user wrote: "This photo is the epitome of women's solidarity! I'm so happy you have both found happiness after all you've been through."

Another wrote: "Thank you both for your brave and determined stand for the rights of women and girls, and for standing up for lesbians."

But others criticised their views.

One accused them of "biological gatekeeping", while another responded to Rowling: "Trans women ARE women for the thousandth time. Stop ruining the lives of people you helped build up to dream."

The meeting comes after Ms Duffield signed an open letter, calling on the government to press pause on its Conversion Therapy Bill.

The Bill seeks to ban the "coercive and abhorrent" practice of conversion therapy - which aims to "cure" people of being trans or non-heteronormative.

The National LGBT Survey 2017 found that 5% of respondents said they had been offered conversion or reparative therapy "in an attempt to cure them of being LGBT", while a further 2% said they had undergone it.

The practice is widely condemned by LGBT rights charities, such as Stonewall which says: "No one should be told their identity is something that can be cured."

But an open letter, signed by "professionals, parents and concerned adults" including Rosie Duffield, urges the government "not to rush through ill-judged legislation to ban so-called conversion therapy".

It continues: "Abusive and harmful practices are already illegal, but ambiguous language and weak definitions risk criminalising ethical exploratory therapy.

"In particular, we worry about children who are presenting with gender dysphoria.

"Similar legislation in other countries has had a chilling effect on therapists, leaving vulnerable youngsters on a one-way path to irreversible medical interventions.

"We cannot make the same mistake in the UK."