Rutland MP Alicia Kearns has earned praise from fellow MPs and equality activists for her calls to end 'gay conversion therapy.'

The MP wrote an article in the gay press this week, in which the mum of one reported that the government's own figures show there have been 2,000 cases of the practice in Britain.

Ms Kearns said: "Friends of mine have been threatened with electro-shock therapy, or even corrective rape, forced to undergo 'conversion' therapy and some are still unable to live their lives openly for fear of rejection or worse. It is for them, and everyone in our country whose sole crime is to love and seek acceptance, that I am fighting to ban 'conversion' therapy."

In her article in Attitude magazine, the MP then outlined her efforts to ban the practice and how a legal framework could operate.

She said: "There are a lot of MPs in Westminster campaigning on this – and the Government is listening to us. We have the most LGBTQ representative Parliament in the world, indeed just on the Conservative benches we have more openly LGBTQ MPs than all the other parties put together. The time for change is now, and the Government, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, is working to deliver a legislative answer."

The MP concluded: "There are many LGBTQ allies in Parliament, and I am proud to be fighting for this vital change. I hope by the end of the year we can end the abhorrent and fraudulent practice of 'conversion' therapy once and for all, so when we celebrate together at next Summer's pride, we can do so with new legal protections in place, and a clear message: sexual orientation is not a pathology, and it damn well doesn't need treating."