Most Britons are opposed to relaxing the law so that it is easier for transgender people to change their legal gender, a YouGov poll has found. 

The findings of the survey, published by The Times, showed that only 28% of UK adults agreed that it should be easier for people to change their legal gender, compared to nearly half (47%) who disagreed. 

When asked if the requirement for a doctor's approval should be removed, only 16% agreed.  Nearly two thirds (63%) were opposed. 

The Government launched a public consultation in 2018 on proposed reforms to the Gender Recognition Act that would remove the requirement for medical evidence and for a transgender person to live in their acquired gender for two years. 

The BBC this week quoted an unnamed Government source who said it was "unlikely" that ministers will change the rules to permit gender self-identification. 

Another said the 2018 consultation was "deeply flawed". 

In April, the Minister for Women and Equalities, Liz Truss, hinted that the Government was having doubts about gender self-ID when she said that the protection of single sex spaces was "extremely important".

While she said that transgender adults should be "free to live their lives as they wish without fear of persecution", she added that there should be "proper checks and balances in the system".