Jamie Wallis has become the first Member of Parliament to come out as trans, revealing that he was diagnosed with gender dysphoria as a child but wanted to demonstrate “how critical it is to be yourself.”
The Bridgend MP said in a statement posted hours after Boris Johnson reportedly joked about transgender people, he had “never lived my truth” but would begin by “telling everyone” about his identity.
Wallis claimed last year that he was raped and blackmailed shortly after being elected to the House of Commons.
Johnson and opposition party leaders in the Commons lauded the statement for its courage.
“I had no intention of ever sharing this with you,” Wallis wrote in an early Wednesday morning post on his website. “I’ve always imagined myself leaving politics long before I said this aloud.”
Wallis, who stated that he would continue to use he/him pronouns, stated that there was a “close call” in April 2020 when his trans identity was nearly revealed by a blackmailer who sent photographs to family members.
The blackmailer demanded £50,000 to remain silent, Wallis stated, but the perpetrator pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison after police intervened.
“For a time, it appeared as though I would be able to move on and get on with my life,” Wallis wrote. “Being a Member of Parliament and concealing something like this was always going to be difficult, but I arrogantly assumed I was capable. “However, I am not.”
In September 2021, Wallis stated that he “hooked up” with someone he met online but declined sex due to the other person’s refusal to use a condom.
“He chose to rape me,” Wallis stated.
“I haven’t been myself since this incident, and I’m not sure I’ll ever recover,” he explained. “It is something you will never forget, and it is something you will never move on from.
“Since then, things have really deteriorated. “I am not well.”
A few months later, Wallis crashed his car and claimed he fled the scene “because I was terrified.” He added that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and thus had “no idea what I was doing except that I was overcome by an overwhelming sense of fear.”
Speaking about the dinner, which Johnson hosted Tuesday night at a hotel in Westminster, Wallis stated that he had been “reminded of the incredible support that those with whom you work can provide.”
“I was also reminded how critical it is to be yourself. I’ve never lived my truth and am unsure how to do so. Perhaps it should begin with informing everyone.”