The Harry Potter author was fuming that Rose Duffield was snubbed from Labour’s election launch in Kent – despite being the party’s only MP in the county

JK Rowling has blasted Sir Keir Starmer, claiming his views on women have not changed in the past three years. The Edinburgh-based author has been a key voice in the gender debate and has also been a high-profile Labour supporter.

But she was unimpressed with reports Rosie Duffield was not invited to the party’s general election launch in Kent, despite being an MP in the county. Ms Duffield, who represents Canterbury, has been vocal in the gender debate and the importance of single-sex spaces.

While the likes fo Angela Rayner, Gillingham and Rainham candidate Naushabah Khan and local councillors were there, Ms Duffield was snubbed. And Harry Potter writer Rowling was unhappy.

She referenced comments by Sir Keir from 2021 when he said it was “not right” to suggest only women had a cervix. Labour has struggled to navigate its way through the gender debate and in Scotland, actually backed SNP/Green changes to law that would have made it easier for men to legally be classified as women.

Taking to social media site X, the 58-year-old said: “It’s hard not to conclude that in spite of recent attempts at back-pedalling, @Keir_Starmer’s view on what Rosie Duffield and women in general are allowed to say about their own bodies hasn’t changed since 2021.”

Ms Duffield’s relationship with Sir Keir has been strained since 2021 when she joined in online criticism of a post that referred to “individuals with a cervix”. She was accused of transphobia and when probed on her comments, Sir Keir said: “Well, it is something that shouldn’t be said. It is not right.”