Latest news with #ChristianLegalCentre
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Christian worker gains final victory against school after it sacked her for LGBT posts
A Christian worker has won her years-long legal battle against a school which sacked her for sharing social media posts about LGBT+ relationships. Kristie Higgs, a Christian mother of two, was fired from her role at Farmor's School in Fairford, Gloucestershire, in 2019 for sharing Facebook posts criticising teaching about LGBT+ relationships in schools. In February, she won a Court of Appeal battle related to her dismissal, with three senior judges finding that the decision to sack her for gross misconduct was 'unlawfully discriminatory' and 'unquestionably a disproportionate response'. The school sought to appeal against the ruling at the Supreme Court in March, but three justices refused to give the school approval to challenge the decision in the UK's highest court. In a decision published on Monday, Lord Reed, Lord Hamblen and Lady Simler said the school had asked for the go-ahead to appeal against the ruling on four grounds. But they said that the Supreme Court 'does not have jurisdiction' to hear three of the grounds, and the fourth 'does not raise an arguable question of law'. In response to the decision, Mrs Higgs said: 'I am relieved and grateful to the Supreme Court for this common-sense decision. 'Christians have the right to express their beliefs on social media and at other non-work-related settings without fear of being punished by their employer.' 'Censorship is illegal' Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, which supported Mrs Higgs' case, said: 'We welcome the Supreme Court's decision, which brings a decisive closure to this extraordinary case.' She continued: 'The Court of Appeal confirmed, loud and clear, that ideological censorship in the workplace, particularly against sincerely held Christian convictions, is illegal. 'This latest decision from the Supreme Court is further proof that our tireless work at the Christian Legal Centre, in defending so many Christian freedoms cases, has not been in vain.' Mrs Higgs, who worked as a pastoral administrator and work experience manager at the school, shared two posts on a private page under her maiden name in October 2018 to about 100 friends, which raised concerns about relationship education at her son's Church of England primary school. She either copied and pasted from another source or reposted the content, adding her own reference in one post to 'brainwashing our children'. Pupils were to learn about the No Outsiders In Our School programme, a series of books that teach the Equality Act in primary schools. An employment tribunal found in 2020 that while Mrs Higgs' religion was a protected characteristic, her dismissal was lawful, but this decision was overturned by an employment appeal tribunal (EAT) in 2023. But the EAT ruled the case should be sent back to an employment tribunal for a fresh decision, which Mrs Higgs' lawyers challenged in the Court of Appeal as 'unnecessary'. In a judgment, Lord Justice Underhill, sitting with Lord Justice Bean and Lady Justice Falk, ruled in Mrs Higgs' favour in February, stating: 'The dismissal of an employee merely because they have expressed a religious or other protected belief to which the employer, or a third party with whom it wishes to protect its reputation, objects will constitute unlawful direct discrimination within the meaning of the Equality Act.'
Daily Mail
12-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Charlie Gard's grieving mother launches legal fight to lift life-long gagging order to keep identities of the doctors in his case secret
Almost eight years after baby Charlie Gard 's death, his mother has launched a legal fight to lift a life-long gagging order keeping the identities of the doctors involved in his case secret. Connie Yates, 39, hopes to overturn the injunction, which threatens prison for anyone who dares to 'publish or reveal' the names of the Great Ormond Street Hospital clinicians. Charlie, who suffered from mitochondrial depletion syndrome, died after they blocked his transfer to a US hospital for a pioneering treatment. 'The injunction is so restrictive that it prevents me from making a complaint to the General Medical Council about the clinicians as I would be revealing their identities,' Ms Yates told the Mail. 'I would have to wait for the Supreme Court to finally discharge it before I could do anything.' The boy's mother, who is supported by the Christian Legal Centre, says the order imposed in 2017 has 'silenced' her for years. She spoke of feeling guilt at having not reported those involved in Charlie's case, who she feels may have breached GMC standards while giving evidence on behalf of the NHS in the high-profile case. Its rules state that medical professionals must 'give an objective, unbiased opinion' and that evidence must not be 'misleading'. Ms Yates and Charlie's father, Chris Gard, had wanted their son to have a pioneering treatment called nucleoside bypass therapy and had raised £1.3million to transfer him to a US hospital that had agreed to take him. However, doctors said that Charlie's degenerative condition was irreversible, and that his life support should be switched off to allow him to die with dignity. His parents took their fight to the European Court of Human Rights but made the decision to end the case after an MRI scan revealed he had deteriorated and lost 90 per cent of his muscle mass. Charlie was taken off life-support and died on July 28, 2017, days before his first birthday. 'Clinicians were able to hide behind anonymity and say that it was in Charlie's 'best interests' to die rather than to pursue specialist treatment which we as parents wanted,' Ms Yates said. 'It is difficult to put into words what it is like... to be silenced and threatened with being criminalised if you speak about the people condemning your child to die.' Her legal bid follows a Supreme Court ruling last month in the case of two other families - the Abbasis and Haastrups - saying life-long orders in such cases may only be granted in exceptional circumstances to protect an individual based on 'compelling evidence' of 'a real and continuing threat of a serious nature'. Ms Yates's legal team has written to Great Ormond Street, saying this shows the injunction must be 'discharged immediately'.
Telegraph
11-05-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
Sharing changing room with trans colleague brought back child abuse memories, nurse says
Following the encounter, Ms Danson was forced to take time off work and when she did return, she began getting changed in a lavatory. Her trauma was compounded when she was admitted to Darlington Memorial Hospital for a minor gynaecological operation, only to discover Rose was scheduled to be involved. She said: 'It is difficult to put into words how I felt. I immediately knew this was ethically wrong and that my condition would be made worse and more painful with the stress it would cause.' But when she raised the matter with the theatre manager and suggested it was inappropriate, she claims she was told: 'But Rose is a woman.' She was initially given the choice of cancelling her surgery, trying to get it done at another hospital, or allowing Rose to be part of the operation. But after raising the matter with the Patient Advisory and Liaison Service (PALS), Rose was eventually removed from the operation. She said: 'I believed this was purely vindictive and demonstrated how low they were prepared to go. Gender identity was placed above patient and staff care. 'They tried to punish me for the legal case I was part of and for opposing gender identity policy within the hospital.' Decision to go public Ms Danson said she had decided to go public about her ordeal in order to 'reclaim her voice' and reiterate why she and her colleagues believe the policy is wrong. The nurses, who are being supported by the Christian Legal Centre, were initially told by hospital bosses they needed to be 're-educated, broaden their mindset and become more inclusive'. She went on: 'I love my job on the day care unit and making people feel better. I am there to be an emotional support to patients and to help take the pain away. 'I am telling my story now because it feels right. I am aghast at how the Trust has ignored what I have been through and placed gender identity ideology above a woman who has experienced child abuse at the hands of a man. 'Institutions pushing this ideology need to understand what many women are carrying around with them. We cannot 'compromise' or 'be more inclusive.' We shouldn't have to be brave and go through the courts and have our livelihoods threatened. 'I found my voice. It was taken away from me as a child. We are survivors, not victims, and our voices need to be heard to help and inspire other people. 'I would encourage other women, whether you are working in the NHS, the police, or wherever: don't suffer in silence. Don't allow this dangerous ideology to make you believe you have done something wrong. Raise your voice and don't be afraid.' Bethany Hutchison, a Darlington nurse and president of the Darlington Nursing Union, said: 'How Karen has been treated has been appalling and totally unacceptable. Sadly, however, we are no longer surprised. 'The Trust is prepared to defend a policy that allows men to access female changing rooms, at all costs. Women's dignity and safety has been completely trampled over.' Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: 'Karen's trauma—rooted in childhood abuse—was cruelly reawakened in a place where she should have felt safe: the nurses' changing room. 'The Trust showed not a shred of compassion for her. Instead, they clung to a harmful ideological policy—one that elevated transgender identity over a woman's lived trauma and need for dignity and protection.'
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Nurse who called transgender paedophile ‘Mr' is suspended after investigation
An NHS nurse who called a transgender paedophile 'Mr' has been suspended. Jennifer Melle, 40, was previously investigated and disciplined by St Helier Hospital in Carshalton, London, after refusing to refer to a child sex offender patient as a woman. Following widespread coverage of her case in the media, she was suspended this week and accused of breaching the patient's confidentiality. After a five-minute meeting with a manager, she was ordered to collect her belongings and escorted out of the hospital in tears. 'I am devastated to have been suspended simply for whistleblowing,' Ms Melle said. 'As a dedicated Christian nurse, I am experiencing relentless institutional abuse, harassment, bullying, and racial discrimination.'Ever since I expressed my Christian beliefs under extreme pressure, I have been a marked woman. 'Despite being the one placed at risk, I am the one being punished. I have been made to feel like a criminal.' Last year, the patient, known only as Patient X, arrived from a men's prison at Ms Melle's ward to receive treatment for a urinary the evening shift, a colleague told Ms Melle, the senior nurse on staff, that the patient wanted to self-discharge and a doctor was called for Melle spoke with the doctor on the phone outside the patient's room, during which Ms Melle referred to the patient as 'mister' and 'he'.She said she was discussing a catheter, for a male person, which needed to be removed, adding: 'This was a real-life medical scenario that required accurate terminology to avoid any doubt between medical professionals.'Overhearing Ms Melle, the patient who was born a man but identified as a woman, took issue with the male pronoun and nurse replied that she was 'sorry I cannot refer to you as 'her' or 'she', as it's against my faith and Christian values, but I can call you by your name'.The patient began to verbally abuse the nurse, saying: 'Imagine if I called you n-----? How about I call you n-----? Yes, black n-----.'The patient also lunged at her despite being restrained and threatened to make a complaint, she said. However, it was Ms Melle who was investigated and disciplined by the hospital in October, with a final warning and a referral to the Nursing and Midwifery Council NMC). She is now filing a legal claim, supported by Christian Legal Centre, against the Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals Trust for harassment, discrimination and human rights breaches. It is understood that she will remain on full pay following her suspension. Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, said her treatment was 'completely crazy'. Mrs Badenoch added: 'She has my full support. It's time the Government pulls its finger out and intervenes to make it clear no one should be punished at work for stating biological reality to paedophiles.' A spokesman for Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust said: 'We expect all members of staff to follow professional standards such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council's code of conduct – this includes maintaining confidentiality for any patients in their care at all times. 'There is no excuse for racially abusing our staff, and we're sorry that Ms Melle had this experience, and we're investigating her complaints. 'As proceedings are still ongoing, it wouldn't be right for us to comment further.' NMC guidance says: 'As a nurse, midwife or nursing associate, you owe a duty of confidentiality to all those who are receiving care. This includes making sure that they are informed about their care and that information about them is shared appropriately'
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Staff object to trans nurse using changing rooms
A group of nurses are challenging their health trust's policy over allowing a trans colleague to use the female changing rooms at work. They have filed claims at an employment tribunal on the grounds of sexual harassment, discrimination, victimisation and breaches of the right to a private life, under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The eight nurses object to their employer allowing their colleague, who was born male but identifies as a woman, to use the facilities at Darlington Memorial Hospital. At the preliminary hearing, Judge Stuart Robinson postponed the trial date until 20 October following an application by County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust. The trust said it needed to allow more time for an internal investigation to be completed. Judge Robinson said the issues being discussed were "complex" and moved the hearing back from its original date of 16 June. He said the hearings would take four weeks, not three as originally estimated, because about 30 witnesses were expected to give evidence. The nurses are being supported in their claim by the Christian Legal Centre. Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. HM Courts and Tribunals Service County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
