SNP leaders ‘snubbed' nurse at centre of NHS trans row
SNP leaders have been accused of declining to meet a nurse at the centre of a tribunal about a trans doctor being allowed to use a female changing room.
Sandie Peggie held talks with several MSPs ahead of her employment tribunal against NHS Fife, which resumes in Dundee next month.
The nurse launched legal action after she was suspended for raising concerns over the use of a female changing room by Beth Upton, a trans doctor.
Ms Peggie met with senior Tories including Russell Findlay, the party leader, and Alexander Stewart, the Mid Scotland and Fife MSP.
The nurse also spoke with Labour politicians and Alba's Ash Regan, and was joined in Holyrood by campaigners fighting for single-sex spaces including Maya Forstater, of the gender-critical charity Sex Matters.
According to The Courier, John Swinney, the First Minister, and his deputy Kate Forbes declined an invitation to meet Ms Peggie.
Mr Findlay said it was a 'privilege' to meet Ms Peggie 'and to hear a first-hand account of her appalling ordeal'.
He added: 'It is outrageous that a dedicated NHS nurse's career has been destroyed and her life consumed by a suffocating legal process simply because she stood up for women's rights.
'Sandie has paid a massive price for her brave and principled stand against the SNP Government's promotion of gender politics which now infects Scotland's entire public sector.'
Mr Findlay also accused SNP leaders of declining to meet Ms Peggie 'because so many SNP politicians are still in the grip of these dangerous and damaging beliefs'.
Ms Peggie, an A&E nurse at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, was suspended in January last year and subjected to a disciplinary investigation after she challenged Dr Upton for using a female changing room on Dec 24 2023.
Dr Upton filed a complaint against Ms Peggie, accusing her of bullying and creating a hostile environment, and describing the encounter as a 'hate incident'.
An employment tribunal hearing was adjourned in March after Ms Peggie's lawyer accused the health board of failing to comply with a request to disclose internal documents relevant to the case. It is scheduled to resume on July 16.
'Politicians need to hear from Sandie'
Margaret Gribbon, Ms Peggie's solicitor, said: 'Politicians needed to hear directly from Sandie to understand how the sheer depth of the discrimination and harassment she and women like her have endured in workplaces – in her case, as a nurse with 30 years unblemished service, simply because she objected to having to undress in front of a man.
'We were grateful for the politicians' time and welcomed the opportunity to share insights into how misguided actions by public bodies such as NHS Fife have devastating real-life consequences and come at great expense to the Scottish taxpayer.
'We had productive meetings, and the door is always open for any politicians who were unable to meet Sandie today.'
Ms Forstater said: 'It was important for politicians to hear directly from Sandie Peggie, given that Scottish public bodies, from NHS Fife right up to the Scottish Government itself, are continuing to delay policy changes following the Supreme Court judgement.
'We urged politicians to consider this as a matter of urgency, as the Supreme Court made crystal clear that organisations which allow men to identify their way into female facilities are operating outside the law.'
A Scottish Government spokesman said no meeting between ministers and Ms Peggie took place, adding: 'It would be inappropriate to comment further while judicial proceedings in an employment tribunal are ongoing.'
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