Britain's first transgender MP has admitted she doctored her own passport to access a gambling website while suffering 'acute psychological distress'.
Katie Wallis, 42, was due to stand trial on two charges of possessing a false passport and possessing a false passport with improper intention.
The MP, who was previously known as Jamie Wallis, was found not guilty after she admitted a single charge under the Computer Misuse Act.
Cardiff Crown Court heard today that Wallis 'recognised she had had a problem with gambling' prior to her election in December 2019 and had registered with Gamstop, a service that bars gamblers from accessing online gaming sites.
The basis of plea stated: 'The problem was in remission when she was elected and, save for the conduct which is the subject of the indictment, it did not at any point affect the performance of her duties as a member of parliament.
'In consequence, online gambling operators were not authorised to permit her access to their platforms, and she knew that she was not entitled to such access.'
The court heard that in April 2022, Wallis had 'on impulse, at a time of acute psychological distress' used her computer to digitally edit the date on an image of her passport to access a gambling platform to circumvent her own self-exclusion.
Katie Wallis, Britain's first transgender MP, has admitted she doctored her own passport to access a gambling site while suffering 'acute psychiatric distress'
The MP, who was previously known as Jamie Wallis, was found not guilty after she admitted a single charge under the Computer Misuse Act (she is pictured arriving to court)
She had not tampered with or altered her own physical passport and had not attempted to use a photo of anyone else, the judge was told.
Wallis put money into an online gambling account, which was subsequently lost.
The basis of plea continued: 'The defendant has not repeated this conduct. The gambling problem which lay behind the offence has not recurred, has not given rise to any further offending, and is no longer a feature of her life.'
The court heard that at the time of the offence, Wallis was suffering from a 'serious mental disorder' after coming out as transgender as a sitting MP.
She had also become estranged from her family and had publicly disclosed that she was a victim of rape, the court heard.
Judge Shomon Khan told Wallis her crime had no financial gain for anyone and handed her a nine-month conditional discharge.
The judge said: 'It was a single impulsive, unsophisticated act during a period of acute psychological distress where there was no financial loss to anybody, no data belonging to any other person was accessed, no computer system was damaged.
'The only person who suffered financial loss was you.
Wallis served as MP for Bridgend in South Wales from 2019 to 2024 and became the first openly transgender MP in the House of Commons in 2022
'Having regard to your guilty plea, all of the medical evidence, the substantial delay in this case, which you were not responsible for, your compelling personal mitigation and the professional and reputational consequences you have already suffered, there is little point in me punishing you further for this offence.'
Wallis was ordered to pay a statutory surcharge of £26 and warned the matter could be resentenced if any further offence was committed in the next nine months.
In June 2025, Wallis pleaded guilty to the harassment of her ex-wife, Rebecca Wallis, after sending her unwanted voice notes and messages.
The former couple share two children and were together for 15 years before they separated in 2020. Their divorce was finalised in 2024.
Wallis was handed a restraining order banning her from contacting her former wife for 12 months and ordered not to enter her home or place of work.
She was also handed a 12-month community order involving 12 days of rehabilitation activity and fined £500 plus £650 costs and a £114 surcharge.
In March 2022, Wallis publicly revealed she had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria and wished to transition to be a woman.
Wallis also reported being raped and blackmailed, and said she was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
In response, then prime minister Boris Johnson praised Wallis's bravery and politicians from across the political spectrum publicly expressed their support.
Source link
