Girls as young as 11 will be eligible for puberty blockers under the restarted Pathways trial after the MHRA agreed new protocols despite an outcry and indications it could have been limited to 14-plus. The Telegraph has the story.

Regulators halted the controversial Pathways experiment that will investigate drugs which delay the onset of puberty in children in February amid growing concerns.

But on Friday the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it had agreed new protocols for the trial to go ahead.

Girls will need to be at least 11 to enrol, and boys will have to be at least 12 to be put on puberty blockers.

When the trial was paused earlier this year, the MHRA said that it wanted to discuss introducing a minimum age of 14 for participants.

The letter said “potentially significant and, as yet, unquantified risk of long-term biological harms is present to participants”.

Read more: Girls Aged 11 Eligible for Restarted Puberty Blocker Trial