Well done, Victoria Atkins. The minister for women and equality, in a Telegraph interview, has talked about the sharp rise in the number of children – and girls, in particular – being referred to the NHS over gender issues, a journey that can take them on to use of puberty-blocking drugs, hormone treatments and, later in life, surgery.

Mrs Atkins surely spoke for a great many people, not least parents, when she said she was “a little cautious” of the use of medical treatments that have potential consequences for the rest of a child’s life.

Why does Mrs Atkins deserve praise for saying these things? Is it not the job of a minister to address issues of public importance, to weigh the evidence, and then to explain such matters to the people in whose name she governs? In most other areas of policy, comments such as Mrs Atkins’ would merit neither praise here nor the front-page headlines they won yesterday. But the “debate” about people changing their gender isn’t like the rest of politics.

This is an area where doubts, criticisms and even simple questions are suppressed and silenced. Where people who have concerns and queries about things that affect their lives, families and rights are often left scared to speak. It is the silencing of debate that led me to start researching this topic earlier this year; in almost 20 years at Westminster, I’d never come across an issue where so many senior people were so reluctant to air publicly their private concerns.