House of Commons apologises after trans barrister used women's lavatory
The House of Commons has apologised after allowing a trans woman to use female-only lavatories.
Robin Moira White, a trans barrister who is a biological male, was told to use the ladies' lavatories in Portcullis House last week before being questioned outside by two women's rights campaigners.
It follows a Supreme Court ruling in April that trans women are not women under the Equality Act. The judgment led to the Government saying trans women should use lavatories according to their biological sex.
Ms White, who was at Portcullis House to attend a women and equalities committee in which the Supreme Court judgment was discussed, was challenged outside the lavatories by campaigners Kate Harris and Heather Binning.
Ms Harris, the co-founder and trustee of the LGB Alliance advocacy group, told The Times: 'We were in the mother of all parliaments and it was not adhering to the law. It was not the fault of staff, who clearly have not been trained in how to deal with these issues.'
Commons apologised in email
The Commons apologised to Ms Harris and Ms Binning in an email seen by The Times.
'You noted that an individual, understood to be biologically male, had seemingly been directed to the female facilities,' the email said.
'At this point you made it clear that you were uncomfortable, left the facilities, and reported the matter to members of my team.
'We acknowledge that it is likely the individual you complained about should have not been directed to the female facilities and we apologise for that.'
The email also drew attention to the parliamentary code of conduct which provides 'clear guidelines as to how we expect all users of the parliamentary [estate] to interact with each other'.
The incident raises questions around how the Government is implementing the ruling of the Supreme Court, and whether women's spaces are being actively protected.
Authorities 'reviewing facilities'
A House of Commons spokesman told The Telegraph: 'We continue to act in full compliance with the law as set out in the Supreme Court's judgment and we remain committed to treating all those who work in or visit Parliament with respect, providing support to colleagues where needed.
'Like many organisations, we are awaiting full guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) on this issue and are reviewing the facilities that are available on the estate.'
Following the Supreme Court ruling, the EHRC told employers, pubs, shops and hospitals that they must all act in line with the Supreme Court ruling and that women-only spaces such as lavatories should be protected.
The EHRC said: 'In workplaces and services that are open to the public, trans women (biological men) should not be permitted to use the women's facilities and trans men (biological women) should not be permitted to use the men's facilities, as this will mean that they are no longer single-sex facilities and must be open to all users of the opposite sex.'
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