04-05-2025
Bank holiday Man-Day! Women's rights campaigners set to wreak havoc on male pool after Hampstead Heath ladies' pond keeps self-ID rule
Women's rights campaigners are plotting to take over the men's pond at Hampstead Heath in protest over bosses refusing to ban trans women from the ladies pond following the Supreme Court ruling.
Dubbing it 'Bank Holiday Man-Day', prominent campaigner Amy Desir called on protesters from 'Let Women Swim' to join her by gatecrashing a men's pond session on Monday.
Ms Desir and other female activists wearing fake beards were escorted away by police officers when they invaded the men's bathing pond in Hampstead, North London, in 2018.
Their latest planned stunt comes after Hampstead Heath Ladies' Pond said trans women would be allowed to continue swimming there despite the landmark Supreme Court ruling stating the legal definition of a woman should be based on biological sex.
Kenwood Ladies' Pond said its inclusive gender policy will 'remain in effect at this time', despite the Equality and Human Rights Commission advising trans women should not use women's facilities in workplaces or public spaces.
The UK's sole women-only natural bathing pool became a flashpoint in the trans debate after the City of London Corporation adopted a 'self-ID' policy in 2019, meaning trans women can use the female changing rooms and swim there.
Gender-critical campaigners have been fighting to 'reclaim' the pond, which opened a century ago for women and girls, but they have been contested by trans activists, including India Willoughby.
In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling, Ms Desir has vowed to continue the fight to reclaim women's-only spaces and called for protesters to join her at the men's pond on Bank Holiday Monday.
Ms Desir has called on protesters from 'Let Women Swim' to join her by gatecrashing a men's pond session at Hampstead Heath on Monday. She is pictured in 2018 when she infiltrated a men's-only session at a south London leisure centre dressed in trunks and a swimming cap
In a speech to a crowd of women, the mother-of-two said: 'Women have spoken, the Supreme Court has spoken, but the fight is not over.
'If anyone fancies a Bank Holiday Man-Day down at the men's pond, I'll be there next Monday.
'Men's pond because they are still saying 'We'll think about it'. F*** that. The Supreme Court has spoken, we're taking back our spaces and we're proving it now.'
Her speech was met with applause and cheers, with one shouting 'Bank Holiday Man-Day!' back.
But it was condemned by Ms Willoughby who shared the speech and wrote: 'Weirdo terfs [trans-exclusionary radical feminists]. Hampstead Heath and the ponds are stunning. I swim here in the summer.'
Ms Willoughby, a trans newsreader who has been a vocal critic of gender-critical campaigners such as Ms Desir and JK Rowling, added: 'Really sad these lot hang around. The ponds committee has said it won't be banning trans peeps - who have always used the Ladies Pond without incident for decades.'
Ms Desir and other women previously disrupted a men's only bathing session at Hampstead Heath in 2018, which led to them being escorted away by police.
The invasion was part of a nationwide campaign set up on Mumsnet called #ManFriday which encourages women to 'self-identify' as men for the day on Fridays in a protest against possible changes to gender laws.
Ms Desir also caused a storm when she attended a men-only swimming session at Dulwich Leisure Centre after telling staff she 'identified as male'.
She and another woman, called Hannah, used the male changing rooms before joining men in the pool in 2018.
Ms Desir, who wore just trunks and a pink swimming cap, told the Mail at the time: 'We are doing it to highlight the ridiculous and dangerous move towards self-identification. We are clearly not men but by saying we are, we were allowed to join in men-only activities.'
The City of London Corporation confirmed earlier this week that it would keep its current gender policy in place while it considers the implications of the Supreme Court ruling.
Prominent barrister Sarah Vine KC warned the ponds should now describe themselves as mixed sex and that the current labels could expose the corporation to legal challenge.
She said: 'Any continued description of two of the ponds as 'men's' and 'ladies' will expose the Corporation to discrimination claims.'
Venice Allan, 49, said female-only spaces were needed for 'safety, privacy and dignity'.
'It doesn't surprise me in the slightest that the Corporation is trying to fudge this,' she added.
Ms Allan last year became the first woman to be banned from an historic association representing users of the North London pond after she objected to biological males being permitted entry.
She was told in an email from the Kenwood Ladies' Pond Association (KLPA) in May that her membership had been revoked because of her views.
Speaking at an AGM in March last year, Ms Allan said: 'When the inevitable happens as a result of your trans inclusive policy that the majority of women, and, so I am told, two men, have voted for today, and a man that you're so inclusive of attacks or rapes a girl, I want you to remember you voted for that.
'I hope that you wake up in the middle of the night and remember that you made that act of male violence in a sacred woman's space possible.'
She told the Mail on Sunday afterwards: 'I'm not banned from the pond, but the ban means I can no longer vote on any of the rules.
'More importantly banning me sends a message – just a year before we celebrate a 100 years of this iconic women's space – that women who object to men using the pool are not welcome.'
The KLPA is a voluntary organisation of women who 'care' about Hampstead Ladies' Pond and represent the view of its users to the City of London Corporation, who are in charge of administering the beauty spot.
Last month, judges unanimously ruled a woman is defined by biological sex under equalities law. This mean that trans women, who are biologically male but identify as women, can be excluded from women-only spaces.
Lord Hodge said: 'The unanimous decision of this court is that the terms woman and sex in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex.
'But we counsel against reading this judgement as a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another, it is not.'
Since then, the Equality and Human Rights Commission has released interim guidance on how organisations should interpret the ruling.
The new guidance says that in places like hospitals, shops and restaurants, 'trans women (biological men) should not be permitted to use the women's facilities'. It also states that trans people should not be left without any facilities to use.
A spokesperson for the City of London Corporation said that its policy was not 'unlawful'.
'These accusations are completely false. The City Corporation is compliant with existing UK law,' they said.
'In line with other affected organisations we are carefully considering the judgment and awaiting statutory guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission – which service providers must take into account.'
