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He said that those who “cannot accept people for who they are” are “narrow-minded” and “in denial”.

He was speaking during a debate in Parliament which went on into Monday night.

It had been sparked by an online petition entitled “Ensure Trans people are fully protected under any conversion therapy ban”.

This was started by one Sammantha Harris, and had garnered over 145,000 online signatures (once a petition reached 100,000 it is automatically considered for debate in Parliament).

The petition in turn had been sparked by the government’s decision to exclude transgenderism from a planned “conversion therapy” ban.

GOVERNMENT U-TURN:

Activists had been lobbying hard for years to have transgenderism included.

In very basic terms, they had argued that if somebody who is biologically male says they are really a female, it should be illegal to try and alter this.

Until fairly recently, “transgender” was often used to refer to somebody who had the medical condition “gender dysphoria”.

This is defined by the NHS currently as “a sense of unease that a person may have because of a mismatch between their biological sex and their gender identity”.

This can be so intense and long-lasting that for some people medics decide that the best course of action is to take hormones and undergo what used to be called “sex change” surgery.

However in recent years activists have insisted that no hormone or surgery are required for someone to change from male to female, or vice-versa, and that simply saying you are male or female is enough, regardless of biology.

They also argue that there are many genders, not just male and female.

Despite pressure from these activists, and in spite of having signalled otherwise, in a surprise move this spring the government said its ban would cover only “attempts to change their sexual orientation” – not someone’s transgender identity.

This prompted a wave of upset, and the Monday night debate gave voice to some of this dissent.

‘TRANSGENDERISM IS NORMAL’:

Among those speaking at Westminster Hall (a section of parliament outside the normal Commons and Lords chambers) was North Down MP Mr Farry.

He began by indicating that Northern Ireland “is perceived to be conservative and has had a reactionary approach to a whole range of equality issues over a number of years”.

He said: “Same-sex sexual orientation and transgender identity should be considered — and are — perfectly normal situations.

“They are a part of the human variation.

“They are something to be celebrated and embraced, and we should treat everyone with equality and dignity for exactly who they are without question.

“The practices of so-called conversion therapy say far more about those who seek to engage them than they do about the subject.

“They are not about the welfare of those they seek to impose the practices on; they are about the hang-ups, bigotry and prejudice of those who seek to engage in them.

“Because they cannot accept people for who they are, they force people to conform to their narrow-minded approach to what the world should be, in denial of the broader reality.

“I want to emphasise how vulnerable trans people are in our society.

“They are not aggressors, seeking to impose upon other people or to make life difficult.

“There is a much wider debate about gender recognition in that regard, which is distinct from today’s debate; however, it is worth stressing that in addition to people with trans identity being much more likely to subject to so-called conversion therapy practices, they have probably grown up marginalised in society.

“They are likely to have been subject to bullying, harassment and marginalisation and to have had difficulty with friendships.

“A constituent got in touch with me recently to express concern about how isolated their child feels because they have a trans identity, and how difficult it is to find people to engage with.

“They were trying to build some sort of support network for that person.

“We should acknowledge that that is the daily reality experienced by people and do all we can to help them – not continue a situation in which people can be abused and punished through what is, in effect, a form of torture.”

‘BAN NEEDED FOR TALKING THERAPY AND DELIVERANCE PRAYERS’

The whole “conversion therapy” debate has been bedevilled by the issue of how to define the term.

Last night’s debate was let by backbench Tory Elliot Colburn.

He talked about things like “corrective rape” and “physical assault” as part of conversion therapy.

Some Tory colleagues pointed out such things are already illegal.

One, Nick Fletcher, asked: “Does my honourable friend agree that there are enough laws already in place to cover the abhorrent practices that he talks about?

“We will be creating a problem with freedom of speech and people being able to talk to their children about the way they feel about themselves.”

Mr Colburn replied: “There is nothing in the proposals and the consultation that the Government set out to suggest that there would be an impact on freedom of speech.

“Although a lot of the practices... are already outlawed, there are many forms of conversion practices that are not, which is why a ban is necessary.”

He went on to describe the practices he wants to ban as follows: “pseudo-psychological and spiritual so-called talking and behavioural therapies — exorcisms, deliverance prayers and other such things — that are not currently illegal”.

Meanwhile Labour MP Mary Kelly Foy said: “Proposals to ban gender conversion practices would not affect legitimate clinical practices that are outcome-neutral, nor would they outlaw exploratory therapies or discussions, or limit religious beliefs or private prayer [NL’s emphasis].”

Alliance deputy leader tells MPs that society should accept transgender identities without question instead of being ‘narrow-minded’