The UK risks going backwards on LGBT rights, Sir Keir Starmer has warned.

Speaking at the PinkNews Awards 2022, the Labour leader criticised “the rhetoric we’ve seen towards trans people” and the the use of minority rights for “tactical gain”.

He said: “It isn’t that long ago that events like this served as a symbol of how promoting LGBT+ equality had become an issue of political consensus.

“Sadly I’m not sure that holds in the same way any longer.

“The rhetoric we’ve seen towards trans people is an obvious example, and I’ve been really clear, my Labour government will uphold the Equality Act we were proud to pass in 2010, including its provisions for single sex spaces.

It’s time to move the conversation forward. If the Tories can’t join this new consensus, I will show leadership

“When minority rights become an issue political parties feel comfortable using for tactical gain, the inevitable result is division in the country and heartbreak in the community.”

Sir Keir also announced that his party would appoint an international LGBT rights envoy.

He made the comments while paying tribute to his former colleague, human rights barrister Jonathan Cooper, who received a posthumous lifetime achievement award at the event on Wednesday evening.

He said the envoy would be a fitting tribute to Mr Cooper, adding: “I want a new consensus on LGBT+ equality, not a political brawl. I want the British people to want not more division.

“It’s time to move the conversation forward. If the Tories can’t join this new consensus, I will show leadership.”

The Labour leader also called for a ban on conversion therapy “in all its forms” and tougher laws to treat LGBT hate crimes as aggravated offences.

PinkNews chief executive Ben Cohen agreed in his speech to the event that political consensus on LGBT had fractured.