A ban on puberty blockers could be made permanent as the Labour Party takes a harder stance on transgender issues, The Telegraph can reveal.

Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, intends to stop powerful hormone blockers being given to children via any means, subject to the outcome of a legal hearing.

Laws to ban the blockers being supplied to children by private or off-shore clinics were passed by Victoria Atkins, his predecessor, in emergency legislation ahead of the general election.

But these are due to expire on Sept 3 and the new Government had to decide whether to pass a law to make it permanent. It is understood Labour will now seek to renew the ban with a view to making it permanent.

Mr Streeting said he would “always put the safety of children first”, adding: “Our approach will continue to be informed by Dr Cass’s review, which found there was insufficient evidence to show puberty blockers were safe for under-18s.

“This ban brings the private sector in line with the NHS. We are committed to providing young people with the evidence-led care that they deserve.”

JK Rowling celebrated the move in a number of online posts on X, citing studies that detail reported negative affects of puberty blockers and praised Mr Streeting for doing the “right” thing.

It comes after criticism of the party for its stance on women’s rights.

The appointment of Anneliese Dodds as the minister for women and equalities sparked a row this week, with Lesbian Labour, which claims to represent “the voices of lesbians in the Labour Party”, saying Ms Dodds “doesn’t get it”.

JK Rowling, Martina Navratilova and other feminist campaigners hit out at Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to appoint Ms Dodds, who has previously said there are many definitions of a woman.

The decision to pursue a permanent ban on puberty blockers is one of the first decisive steps on trans issues made by the new Government, which is keen to fully implement the findings of the independent Cass Review.

Dr Hilary Cass, the paediatrician who led the review, has said the drugs may permanently disrupt the brain maturation of adolescents, potentially rewiring neural circuits that cannot be reversed.

Her review urged giving children “time to think” before sending them down an irreversible path because people were changing their minds up until the age of 25. It led to the NHS stopping under-18s being seen by adult clinics and given cross-sex hormones.

Helen Joyce, the director of advocacy for Sex Matters, a human rights charity, said it was “an excellent sign that Labour intends to take an evidence-based approach to child gender medicine, and to prioritise child safeguarding”.

“As the Cass Review showed, there is no research to support using these life-altering drugs for gender confusion. Mr Streeting now needs to go further, and rein in the private sale of oestrogen and testosterone,” she said. 

“Otherwise, unregulated online clinics will continue to profit from desperate teenagers and young adults, who have been misled by trans lobbyists into thinking of these powerful hormones as a panacea.”

The NHS halted all prescriptions of puberty blockers with a view to starting a clinical trial, but there were fears about the number of children accessing the blockers via private online clinics such as Gender GP, which is based in Singapore.

The emergency legislation brought by Ms Atkins sought to put an end to that after a campaign to impose a widespread ban led by Liz Truss, the former prime minister.

But the decision to ban the drugs is being challenged in the High Court by the Good Law Project and TransActual, an activist group, with a hearing beginning at the High Court on Friday morning.

Jolyon Mougham, the director at Good Law Project and the lawyer bringing the challenge, said before the hearing that Mr Streeting had made his position clear to the judge.

“Wes Streeting’s position is that, subject to the outcome of the court proceedings and consultation, he will renew it and convert it into a permanent ban,” he said.

The High Court was told that Ms Atkins had overruled officials and acted on her “personal views” when she used emergency legislation to ban puberty blockers.

At the hearing on Friday, lawyers for TransActual and a young person who cannot be named told the High Court in London that the legislation made by the previous government on May 29, which prevented the prescription of the medication from European or private prescribers and restricted NHS provision to within clinical trials, was unlawful.

The Department of Health and Social Care and the Department of Health in Northern Ireland are defending the claim, and have said the case should be dismissed.

A man travelled from London to Bristol before leaving suitcases filled with the remains of two adult men on Clifton Suspension Bridge, police have said.

The Metropolitan Police said it was taking over the investigation and confirmed that a crime scene was in place in Shepherd’s Bush, west London.

Police have issued an image of the suspect, who fled the scene after being confronted by members of the public.

He was described as black, with a beard and wearing a black Adidas baseball cap, black jeans, a black jacket and white trainers. He also had a black backpack.

Police were called at 11.57pm on Wednesday to reports of a man seen “acting suspiciously”.

Officers arrived less than 10 minutes later, but the man had already left the scene, leaving a suitcase behind. A second suitcase was discovered nearby a short time later. Both were found to contain human remains.

One post-mortem examination has been carried out which proved “inconclusive”, police said. A second post-mortem remains ongoing.

The victims have not yet been formally identified but both are believed to be adult men, detectives said.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Andy Valentine, who is leading the investigation for the Met, said: “Over the last 48 hours, we have been working extremely closely with colleagues from Avon and Somerset. This work leads us to believe the man we need to speak to travelled to Bristol from London earlier on Wednesday evening.

“We are drawing on resources from across the Met to find and apprehend the suspect, and I would urge anyone who believes they see him, or who knows of his whereabouts, to call 999 straight away. Do not approach him.

“We recognise this has caused significant concern to residents in the Clifton area, and will cause concern among those who live and work in West London. Extra officers will be on patrol in the area over the coming days, and I would encourage anyone with any concerns to speak to them.”

A man has been arrested in connection with the Hertfordshire crossbow murders of three women on Tuesday.

Kyle Clifford, from Enfield, in north London, was arrested on Thursday evening on suspicion of three counts of murder.

Detective Superintendent Rob Hall, of the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said: “Our thoughts remain with the victims’ family at this tragic time.

“The investigation is moving at pace and, as a result, we have now arrested a man. Enquiries are continuing at this time.”

Police said the suspect remains in a serious condition in hospital after being found with a wound to his chest at a cemetery close to his home on Wednesday afternoon.

The 26-year-old, a former soldier and security guard, was held on suspicion of killing Louise Hunt, his 25-year-old ex-girlfriend, her sister Hannah, 28, and their 61-year-old mother Carol with a crossbow at their home.

Friends of the Hunt family attended a vigil at St James’ Church in Bushey on Thursday, paying tribute to the three women.

Lea Holloway, 60, a childhood friend of Carol Hunt, described her as a “beautiful person”.

She said: “This is the stuff nightmares are made of. They were a lovely family and they [the daughters] were lovely girls. I feel for their eldest daughter and John [Hunt]. I can’t imagine what it would be like.”

After being joined by two other close friends, Dionne Smith, 58, and Abigail Phillips, 58, the trio told reporters: “We were a four, and now there’s only three. It doesn’t seem real. We are together in grief.”

Colleagues of Mr Hunt said they were “heartbroken” for the commentator, and a minute’s silence was held for the family during the July Festival at Newmarket Racecourse in Suffolk.

Flowers were left at the scene in Ashlyn Close, Bushey, with notes bearing messages attached to some bouquets.

Shortly after the arrest of Clifford, police moved their cordon back along Ashlyn Close, nearer to the scene of the crime.

Uniformed officers could be seen standing at the front door as colleagues worked inside and along the cul-de-sac to establish the precise sequence of events that culminated in the three deaths.

After handing a small bouquet of flowers to an officer, Adam Davis, 30, who works at the Bushey Grove Leisure Centre, frequently used by the Hunt family, said: “I knew all the family, and the daughters I knew quite well because Hannah worked as a massage therapist for us.

“John would come in a lot and was always so friendly. They all were. They loved to have a chat. I can’t say a single bad thing about them.”

Mr Davis said he knew that Louise Hunt had been in a relationship with Clifford for a number of months, but added: “She kept it really quiet, so I don’t know much about what their relationship was like.”

The Independent Office for Police Conduct said it received a mandatory referral from the Metropolitan Police after Mr Clifford was found by officers with serious injuries in Enfield, but was satisfied that no investigation was needed.

Post box insignia may pass unnoticed by most of us, but the King has followed a little-known tradition and given the stamp of approval to a new-look design.

Royal Mail’s red boxes have been marked with the cypher of the reigning monarch since their introduction in the 19th century. But the King has put a unique twist on the design for his reign.

His Majesty’s cypher, which will appear on Royal Mail branding, consists of the overlaid initials of his name and title, rex. In addition to the “CR”, the King’s regnal numbers are included in the design, something which has not been universal in designs over the last 170 years.

The first of these new boxes was unveiled in Great Cambourne, Cambridgeshire, by a group of schoolchildren on Friday.

The King’s post-box cypher features the Tudor Crown which he chose to incorporate into his royal cypher in February.

Speaking at the unveiling of the post box, Emma Gilthorpe, the chief executive of Royal Mail said: “More than 115,000 postboxes across the UK have recorded the succession of monarchs since the first box bore the cipher of Queen Victoria. We thank His Majesty for granting us the use of his personal cypher as we begin the next chapter in the story of the iconic Great British postbox in Great Cambourne.”

Queen Victoria’s cypher was the first to be used for England post boxes – Scotland uses the St Andrew’s Crown – and it took the form of a V incorporated into ito R for Regina. Edward VII was next, including his regal number in his cypher.

However, the use or not of regnal numbers seemed to be down to the choice of the monarch. George V, dropped the regnal number from his cypher, and his successor Edward VIII chose to use his.

The late queen included her regnal number, and the King has chosen to do the same.

The new box was unveiled by children from The Vine Inter-Church Primary School in Upper Cambourne, and Julie Spence, the Lord-Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire.

The children posted the first letters in the box using special stamps produced to celebrate the King’s Coronation.

As a school project, each child was asked to write a letter to the King about their new Forest School, which will open in September. They also asked for his advice on moving towards a more sustainable future.

The new royal cypher has also been applied to the doors of Royal Mail vehicles, with an initial rollout seeing 100 trucks updated to bear  the King’s version from Friday, and a further 290 due to receive the new logo over the next six weeks.

In total, 3636 delivery vehicles will be updated between August and October.

Meanwhile, the new version of the Royal Mail logo will be rolled out on new and replacement signage, stationary and vehicles, in line with guidance from the Royal Household, to avoid waste.

Similarly, the introduction of the King’s new cypher on insignia such as buttons, liveries and uniforms has been gradual.