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Telegraph
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Welsh Government ‘disobeying Supreme Court trans ruling'
The Welsh Government has been accused of disobeying the Supreme Court gender judgment. A human resources document for the devolved administration on 'trans inclusion' continues to claim 'trans women are women'. That is despite the country's highest court ruling in April that transgender women are not legally women. The Supreme Court ruled that the word 'sex' in the Equality Act refers only to biological sex, not to a person's gender identity. But in the document, the Welsh Government said: 'The Welsh government's policy position is that trans women are women, trans men are men, and non-binary identities are valid. 'As an employer, the Welsh government civil service aims to be an inclusive and diverse workplace where everyone feels able to be their true selves.' The document, which was published before the judgment but remains in use, was branded 'clearly unlawful' by gender-critical campaigners. Cathy Larkman, lead for the Women's Rights Network in Wales, told The Telegraph: 'We are aware of this clearly unlawful policy, which reflects the long-held and deeply entrenched position of Welsh Government. 'We have long pointed out to them that their ideological approach has harmful impacts on the rights of women and girls in Wales.' Darren Millar, leader of the Welsh Conservatives, said: 'Biological sex is a clear and important legal concept that must be respected. That the Welsh Labour Government appears to be ignoring the Supreme Court's ruling is totally unacceptable. 'A government that cannot properly distinguish between men and women, and fails to uphold the law, has no place running our public services. 'It is clearer than ever that Wales needs a new government that will protect women's rights, take action on single-sex spaces, women-only sports and fairness in employment policies and practices.' The Welsh Government has maintained that it was still 'considering' the Supreme Court judgment despite almost three months having passed since it was given. Elsewhere in the document, the government commits to editing 'all' transgender staff records to match their transgender identity – even when they do not have a gender recognition certificate (GRC) and therefore have not formally changed gender. 'A person does not require a GRC to live in their affirmed gender – the GRA [Gender Recognition Act] only confers legal recognition of that gender in certain areas,' it reads. The document later adds: 'The Welsh Government will amend all records to match an employee's affirmed gender although HMRC and Pension provisions may only be changed following the receipt of a GRC.' The document also says that non-binary staff who are required to wear workwear will be given male and female versions. 'Where gendered items are part of the uniform, staff can mix and match as they wish,' the document reads. 'Where non-binary staff require both a 'uniform A' and 'uniform B', this will be provided.' Maya Forstater, chief executive of Sex Matters, said: 'This is a ticking time bomb for the Welsh Government. It's as if the For Women Scotland judgment hasn't happened. It ignores the established legal position that 'woman' and 'man' are defined by biological sex. 'Non-binary identities are certainly not recognised in law. This nonsensical policy would not withstand a legal challenge.' A spokesman for the Welsh Government said: 'The document referred to predates the Supreme Court ruling. 'As an employer, we are working to understand the implications of the ruling on our policies and practices and will be guided by the revised statutory EHRC Code of Practice once it is published.'
Telegraph
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Trans police officers to be allowed to strip-search women
Police have revived plans to allow transgender officers to strip-search women. Proposed guidance for the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), the representative body for senior police officers, states that male staff identifying as female should be able to intimately search women, as long as they have a gender recognition certificate. The NPCC withdrew similar guidance last year after the previous government raised concerns about women's safety, and said it was launching a 'thorough' review of the rules. Adopting the guidance would bring the NPCC into line with the British Transport Police, which announced a similar policy in November. Women's rights organisations said the guidance represented a 'serious breach of the fundamental rights of female detainees', and warned that senior police officers had 'forgotten about women, in their pursuit of ideology'. It has now emerged that the council's ' diversity, equality and inclusion co-ordination committee' has agreed that transgender males with a certificate should be able to search female detainees. Documents seen by The Telegraph state: 'The recommendation from the NPCC Lead for LGBTQ+ is that a trans officer searches a person consistent with the officer's sex as established by a gender recognition certificate [GRC].' These proposals will be considered next month by the full NPCC before becoming official policy. Applying for a GRC costs £5, and an applicant needs to have a signed statement from a doctor that they have gender dysphoria, meaning they feel they are born in the wrong body. Last year, 68,874 strip-searches were conducted in police stations and 5,098 in other locations. The proposed guidance states: 'It is important that employers treat people in accordance with their lived gender identity, whether or not they have a gender recognition certificate.' It suggests that a trans officer without a GRC could be exempt from searching. The policy states that if a detainee objects to being searched by a trans officer they may be substituted with a different officer. But it adds: 'Consideration should also be given to the manner in which the detainee objects to the search and any prejudicial language should be dealt with positively.' On Monday, the NPCC was unable to say what 'dealt with positively' meant. But the previous, withdrawn, guidance stated: 'If the refusal is based on discriminatory views, consideration should be given for the incident to be recorded as a non-crime hate incident unless the circumstances amount to a recordable crime.' While the guidance considers at length the welfare of trans detainees and officers, it does not specifically consider the impact on female detainees of being searched by a biologically male officer. 'Taken leave of their senses' Cathy Larkman, a retired police superintendent and national policing lead for the Women's Rights Network, said senior police officers had been 'entirely captured by gender ideology and have taken leave of their senses'. 'The chief constables of the UK need to bear in mind that their role as police officers is to protect the public and enforce the law. It is not to act as agents of radical social change, and to attempt to stretch and even breach the law, particularly when this harms the rights of women and girls,' he said. 'Police leaders make a lot of noise about tackling violence against women and girls. Their words are hollow ones, as they are determined to subject women to opposite sex strip-searching despite all our objections. 'We have seen time and again the impact when it goes wrong, yet the police want to magnify this a hundred-fold by allowing opposite sex strip-searching.' She added: 'I also feel for police women, who will be expected to strip-search men, some of whom will be deriving questionable pleasure from this. These policewomen will not be able to speak out, for fear of being disciplined and ultimately losing their jobs. 'The Police have forgotten about women, in their pursuit of ideology. They have become fanatics. It's unforgivable'. Maya Forstater, chief executive of the women's rights group Sex Matters, said: 'The natural reaction to this new guidance on trans officers searching is: what can the NPCC possibly be thinking? 'Like British Transport Police, which Sex Matters is taking to court, NPCC is recommending to its council of chief constables that male officers with gender recognition certificates can search, including strip-search, female detainees. 'Paying £5 for a piece of paper from the Government doesn't turn a male police officer into a female one, any more than wearing a dress or putting on lipstick would. We regard this guidance as a serious breach of the fundamental rights of female detainees.' A spokesman for the NPCC said: 'We have been conducting a review of the national guidance on custody searches carried out by transgender officers and employees. 'This review has been informed by colleagues across policing and partner organisations, community groups and associations and with extensive legal advice. 'Chief constables will be reviewing and discussing the proposed changes in the next few weeks.' 'Police forces are operationally independent and while this guidance will provide a framework for dealing with incidents, ultimately an assessment of each situation will be made locally to determine the most appropriate action, if any.'
