A former British Army Officer, who advises senior commanders on transgender policy, has criticised at Donald Trump's "archaic" ban on transgender troops serving in the military. Hannah Graf became the highest-ranking transgender soldier in the British Army, and was a captain with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. Having received an MBE for leadership, she criticised the US President's transgender policy as being in "stark contrast" to the UK's attitude.

She said the honour was particularly important to her, "considering what's going on in the United States". "My heart goes out to all those people in the US who don't get these opportunities," she said. The US should "absolutely reconsider" its position, she continued. "There are hardworking highly-skilled, highly motivated people with deep integrity who are losing their jobs in the US military because of this archaic law," she added. Mrs Graf attended the Buckingham Palace ceremony alongside her family and husband. She said Prince William was "very supportive" when discussing both his and her experiences of the transgender community in the RAF.

Huge honour to receive an #MBE at Buckingham Palace this morning. An amazing event to share with my family and made me really proud of my service with the @BritishArmyhttps://t.co/W2rxocHAe2 — Hannah Graf MBE (@hannahw253) June 12, 2019

In 2018, she married Jake Graf, who also transitioned, and the couple have since used their platform to become a voice for the LGBTQ+ community. Mrs Graf transitioned following a tour of Afghanistan, in 2013, and mentored personnel as the Army’s Transgender Representative. Her husband said he was "extremely proud of her work towards trans and LGBTQ equality and inclusion within the British Army".