Emmett Scanlan and Anna Friel play the parents of a transgender child, portrayed by Callum Booth-Ford, in Butterfly, an ITV drama series shown last year

England’s only NHS gender clinic for children is exposing young patients to “long-term damage” because of its “inability to stand up to the pressure” from “highly politicised” campaigners and families demanding fast-track gender transition, some of its own doctors say.

The Gender Identity Development Service (Gids), part of the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust in north London, is providing “woefully inadequate” care, according to a report by a senior clinician and former governor of the trust. Some staff have “very serious ethical concerns” about children making life-changing decisions with “inadequate” examination and consent.

An official review drawn up in response to the report accepts some criticisms and makes 26 recommendations. However, Gids insisted that the service was “safe and operating in line with best