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Potential prime minister Wes Streeting says he will meet NHS nurses campaigning for a biological sex breakthrough.

He has agreed to face-to-face talks with women who took legal action against County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust for allowing a biological male trans woman to use female changing rooms.

An employment tribunal found Bethany Hutchison and colleagues - known as The Magnificent Seven - were victims of harassment and sex discrimination and ruled their employer's policy of allowing men into women's spaces is unlawful and violates the rights of female staff.

The panel declared the law leaves no scope for permitting men to use a female changing room based on their "gender identity" or under any other pretext.

The ruling was hailed as a major victory for those campaigning to protect and uphold women's rights because it came in wake of last year's Supreme Court ruling which stated a woman, in law, means a biological woman.

In a letter to mum-of-two Mrs Hutchison, President of the Darlington Nursing Union, Mr Streeting confirmed he will meet the nurses once updated Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) guidance is laid before parliament after the May 7 local elections.

Health Secretary Mr Streeting is thought to be one of a number of Labour MPs considering putting his name forward if prime minister Sir Keir Starmer is forced to quit.

Mrs Hutchison said: "A year on (from the Supreme Court ruling) the Government has still not published the longpromised guidance on singlesex spaces, guidance that is urgently needed not only across the NHS but throughout every public service in the UK. The absence of clear policy has left frontline staff exposed, unsupported, and in some cases actively silenced through a culture of fear."

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, also Minister for Women and Equalities, said the EHRC code of practice will be updated to reflect the clear legal position that sex in the Equality Act refers to biological sex, once the local elections are over.

The updated code was sent to her on September 4 last year. One month later the EHRC wrote to Mrs Phillipson demanding it be brought to Parliament as soon as possible.

The more than 12-month delay has seen the Government accused of dragging its heels and blocking guidance that would uphold women's rights and ensure lawful single-sex spaces, sparking fury from outspoken women's rights activists, including Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling and Tory peer and former Olympic swimmer Baroness Sharron Davies.

Mr Streeting's new pledge to meet the nurses follows sustained legal and political pressure to bring the politically correct public sector into line with established sexbased rights.

In January a panel ruled decisively in the Darlington nurses' favour finding the trust's policy amounted to unlawful harassment and discrimination and forcing females to undress in the presence of a man violated their dignity, created a degrading working environment, and failed to properly balance sexbased rights under the Equality Act 2010.

The tribunal also criticised the trust's handling of complaints and its treatment of nurses who spoke out.

Nurse Karen Danson, who gave evidence at the hearing, described how being required to share a changing room with a man had triggered flashbacks to childhood abuse and she suffered Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result.

After the Express exposed the scandal, Mr Streeting said he supported the women and was "horrified" they had been forced to resort to legal action.

He met them in October 2024 and said he believed sex is biological and asked them to submit proposals for policy reform.

In subsequent correspondence, Mr Streeting said he could not issue NHS guidance while awaiting the outcome of the case brought by For Women Scotland.

Following the Supreme Court's ruling in April last year he said new NHS guidance on single sex spaces would be delivered "within weeks". Despite this assurance it did not materialise.

The Government now intends to lay the EHRC Code of Practice before Parliament this month, but after Thursday's local elections.

In his most recent correspondence with Mrs Hutchison, seen by the Express, Mr Streeting said: "I do want to assure you of my ongoing support for the protection of single sex spaces based on biological sex.

"I understand the concerns regarding the time frame involved; however, the government is taking urgent action to meet our intention to lay the Code of Practice in May for parliamentary scrutiny. Parliament will then have a 40-day period to consider the Code."

Mrs Hutchison said: "We are pleased (Mr Streeting) has committed to meeting us again but it should never have taken years of legal action, national media exposure and a tribunal victory for our dignity at work to be recognised.

He has repeatedly said he supports us and believes in singlesex spaces based on biological sex. We now expect that support to be reflected in clear, enforceable guidance across the NHS."

Andrea Williams, Chief Executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: "The tribunal in the Darlington case confirmed what should have been obvious all along: women should not be forced to undress in front of men. "By ruling that the policy that allowed men into the women's changing room has also exposed every NHS trust across the country to legal challenge, as similar policies are believed to be in place nationally.

"The Health Secretary's acknowledgement of their treatment is important, but women working across the NHS need certainty, not delay. The law is clear, and guidance must now reflect that reality, so this injustice is never repeated."