By David Thompson

Copyright northernirelandworld

The education minister Paul Givan had written to Naomi Long asking her to withdraw the remarks, saying they were “wholly unwarranted and deeply offensive to a profession that is committed to safeguarding and supporting all pupils”.

However, the Alliance leader says she won’t apologise – arguing that almost four in ten pupils who identify as LGBTQ “have been made to feel uncomfortable” by teachers.

The row was prompted by Mr Givan telling the Education Authority to withdraw transgender advice in schools, and replacing it with a new policy based on biological sex.

In response to that move, Mrs Long told Cool FM News that it was “potentially open season for bullying… it’s abandoning vulnerable young people”.

She implied that teachers may feel “enabled to take their own ideological positions and work that through the classroom”.

In a letter, Minister Givan said the department’s position “remains clear and consistent. It is based on legislation, common sense and the protection of all pupils” and asked her to withdraw the remarks.

Speaking to the BBC’s Nolan Show, the Alliance leader said she would not.

“I stand over that, not because I am saying all teachers bully, but I think many of us on our journey through education, and many parents of children who are at school now, and many LGBTQ young people… will sadly have had experiences where adults in that system abuse their position and abuse in the way that they engage with pupils”, she said.

Meanwhile, Mr Givan has been urged by LGBTQ+ groups to reveal the legal advice he received ahead of the new sex-based policy for schools.

Alexa Moore from The Rainbow Project, said: “The minister’s removal of this guidance at the very start of the school term hasn’t been good for pupils, for teachers or for parents. We urge him to reinstate the guidance and meaningfully engage with the young people affected by his decisions.”