The UK’s new health secretary has said he will make permanent an emergency ban on the supply of puberty blockers to children.

The previous Conservative Government had rushed through the temporary ban just a day before parliament was dissolved, putting a stop to private clinics prescribing the drugs to under-18s.

Now, Labour’s Wes Streeting will keep the ban, as campaigners challenged the initial decision in the courts.

Government lawyers said that, subject to the outcome of the case, it was “minded to renew the emergency banning order with a view to converting it to a permanent ban, subject to appropriate consultation”.

Helen Joyce, director of advocacy for the charity Sex Matters, said: “Wes Streeting’s announcement that he plans to make his predecessor’s ban on puberty blockers permanent is an excellent sign that Labour intends to take an evidence-based approach to child gender medicine, and to prioritise child safeguarding.”