The Government has refused to release a cache of emails that would show whether ministers deliberately violated a boycott of the US state of North Carolina over its anti-transgender person laws.

The Independent used freedom of information law to demand correspondence from the minister in charge of the Department for International Trade, Liam Fox, relating to the setting up of the office. The site, in Raleigh, NC, was announced days after he took office.

Major international companies including Deutche Bank, Paypal, Pepsi, and Hewlett Packard have cancelled expansion plans in North Carolina in light of it passing a law that forces people who have changed their genders to use the wrong bathroom, as well as the scrapping of some LGBT anti-discrimination protections. Firms said it would not be right to force their employees to work in a state that enshrines discrimination against them in law.

Dr Fox has an outspoken history of opposing LGBT rights. He voted strongly against same-sex marriage and gay adoption rights, and was absent for the votes on civil partnerships, scrapping Section 28, gender recognition, and equalising the age of consent. In 2013 he claimed that scrapping the ban on same-sex marriage “smacks of social engineering”.

The Tory MP resigned in disgrace from David Cameron’s government after he gave a lobbyist and close personal friend access to Ministry of Defence meetings, but was reappointed as a top minister in charge of commercial deals under Theresa May.

Officials admitted there was a “public interest” in revealing whether the anti-LGBT laws had been a factor in siting the office but said there was an even stronger “public interest” in ministers not having to reveal to the public why the decision had been made. A spokesperson for the department said only that the location of the office was chosen “because of their potential for UK trade and investment”, but would not comment on whether the anti-transgender law had been considered.

The downtown area of Raleigh, NC (Public domain, Mark Turner)

Raleigh is only the 40th biggest city in the US and is overshadowed regionally by cities such as Jacksonville, Alabama, Washington DC, and Baltimore. Its biggest employers by far are the State of North Carolina, the local school system, and the local university and hospital systems.

Liberal Democrat peer Liz Barker, who has previously raised concerns about the office, called on the British Government to follow the lead of corporations who had boycotted the state.

“Just as some of the biggest global corporations are boycotting the state North Carolina because of its treatment of trans people under the notorious law HB2, Liam Fox has opened a new UK Government trade office,” she said.

LGBT+ rights around the globe Show all 9 1 /9 LGBT+ rights around the globe LGBT+ rights around the globe Russia Russia’s antipathy towards homosexuality has been well established following the efforts of human rights campaigners. However, while it is legal to be homosexual, LGBT couples are offered no protections from discrimination. They are also actively discriminated against by a 2013 law criminalising LGBT “propaganda” allowing the arrest of numerous Russian LGBT activists. AFP/Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Brunei Brunei recently introduced a law to make sodomy punishable by stoning to death. It was already illegal and punishable by up to 10 years in prison AFP/Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Mauritania Men who are found having sex with other men face stoning, while lesbians can be imprisoned, under Sharia law. However, the state has reportedly not executed anyone for this ‘crime’ since 1987 Alamy LGBT+ rights around the globe Sudan Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal under Sudanese law. Men can be executed on their third offence, women on their fourth Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Saudi Arabia Homosexuality and gender realignment is illegal and punishable by death, imprisonment, whipping and chemical castration Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Yemen The official position within the country is that there are no gays. LGBT inviduals, if discovered by the government, are likely to face intense pressure. Punishments range from flogging to the death penalty Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Nigeria Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal and in some northern states punishable with death by stoning. This is not a policy enacted across the entire country, although there is a prevalent anti-LGBT agenda pushed by the government. In 2007 a Pew survey established that 97% of the population felt that homosexuality should not be accepted. It is punishable by 14 years in prison Reuters LGBT+ rights around the globe Somalia Homosexuality was established as a crime in 1888 and under new Somali Penal Code established in 1973 homosexual sex can be punishable by three years in prison. A person can be put to death for being a homosexual Reuters LGBT+ rights around the globe Iraq Although same-sex relationships have been decriminalised, much of the population still suffer from intense discrimination. Additionally, in some of the country over-run by the extremist organisation Isis, LGBT individuals can face death by stoning Getty

“The nasty party, which introduced Section 28, still doesn’t understand that anti-LGBT discrimination is bad for business.”

In its response to the request to release the documents the Government said: “Openness in government can increase public trust and engagement with the government and its decision. We recognise that the decisions Ministers or officials make have a significant impact on the lives of citizens and there is a public interest in their deliberations being transparent.

“However, these public interests have to be weighed against a strong public interest that policy making and its implementation are of the highest quality and informed by a full consideration of all the options. Ministers and officials must be able to discuss policy freely and frankly, exchange views on available options and understand their possible implications. Taking into account all the circumstances of this case, we have concluded that the balance of the public interest favours withholding this information.”

Questioned about the relevance of the LGBT law, a Government spokesperson added: “The locations of new trade offices in the US were chosen because of their potential for UK trade and investment, given these areas’ economic productivity and well-established research and development institutions.