Former Today presenter John Humphrys has warned that some people are hiding their real views on transgenderism out of fear of the "mob" and the possibility of losing their jobs.
Writing in the Daily Mail, Humphrys said a doctor had told him she was "desperately worried" about the treatment being offered to gender dysphoric children, and feared that pressure groups and trans activists had taken over the debate.
Humphyrs, who presented the BBC's flagship Today programme from 1987 to 2019, said that the doctor was in "no doubt" that teenagers questioning their gender identity were probably just confused and in need of advice.
"It's called being a confused teenager. Probably an unhappy teenager, who seizes on the latest fashionable solution to solve the problems that are making them so miserable," he wrote.
"What they need is not hormone-blocking medication or, God forbid, surgery, but an experienced therapist who will listen to them, and perhaps give advice. As she put it, children change constantly. It's what growing up is all about.
"And yet while they are in this state of flux we are allowing them to make life-changing decisions. Can there be a bigger decision for a girl than 'becoming' a boy? Or vice versa?
"The truly terrifying question is: 'What if you change your mind?' How can we expect a young adolescent to answer that?"
But Humphrys was sympathetic when the doctor told him she didn't want to be quoted with her name.
"And I can understand why," he said.
"Politicians — scared of upsetting their leader — often hide behind anonymity. So do people who work for, say, the NHS. They might be afraid of getting the sack or at least being punished. But that was not her worry: she has her own consultancy.
"It wasn't the boss she was scared of. It was the mob.
"She was afraid of being viciously attacked on social media and having her reputation destroyed. She is not alone in her fear. Far from it," he said, noting the new Free Speech Union set up by Toby Young in opposition to this trend.
Humphrys said he feared British society was in danger of losing the "resilience" that makes it possible for people to share their views without fear of offence.
"My anonymous source has an absolute right to shout her views from the rooftops with her name attached to them, even if she is accused of making some people unhappy. The fact that she cannot should worry every one of us," he said.
"Self-censorship is not the equivalent of restraint, which is essential in any civilised society. It is surrender to the mob."
