Latest news with #gendercritical
Times
2 days ago
- Health
- Times
Sandie Peggie ‘joked about posting bacon to mosque', tribunal told
Lawyers representing NHS Fife in a high-profile employment tribunal have offered evidence from a witness suggesting a gender-critical nurse was Islamophobic and racist. Sandie Peggie is suing the health board for discrimination because she had to share a single-sex changing room with Dr Beth Upton, a male doctor who is transgender. On Monday, Fiona Wishart, an emergency nurse practitioner, told the tribunal she had heard Peggie making 'derogatory' remarks about Dr Upton at a lunch in September 2023, and making 'offensive' comments about a mosque being built in the town. Wishart, who has worked for NHS Fife for 41 years, said: 'I was at a lunch with fellow colleagues. Sandie had made remarks about Beth at the lunch, derogatory remarks.' Wishart said she had forgotten details but was told the comments were 'weirdo', 'freak' and 'it', although she also conceded those specific terms were not used at the lunch, the tribunal heard.
Telegraph
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Parliament is still stacked with gender ideologues
Let's be clear: by 'transphobes' Roca doesn't mean violent thugs who want to crucify cross dressers. He means you. He means the average British voter who believes that biological sex exists. The parents alarmed that teachers are telling their daughters they are 'born in the wrong body' if they like playing with trucks. The people campaigning to stop male sex offenders from being housed in female prisons. The detransitioners left scarred by medical experiments masquerading as care. He means the Supreme Court justices who recently reaffirmed that, under equality law, sex means biology, a decision he decried as 'depressing.' To Roca, all of them – all of us – are unhinged. But what's truly depressing is that Parliament is still stacked with unabashed gender goons like Roca, who confuse sneering for superiority and ideology for intellect. The Labour Party has become a refuge for some of the most absurd and extreme statements ever uttered into a microphone. Dawn Butler once bafflingly informed a Pink News audience that 'babies are born without a sex' and that ' 90 per cent of giraffes are gay.' Stella Creasy earnestly believes that being a feminist means affirming 'women with penises.' And Labour's health minister Ashley Dalton once tweeted that people should be able to identify as llamas if they wish. Then there's Jess Phillips, self-identifying 'gobby feminist' and safeguarding minister, who stayed mute as gender-critical MPs were hounded from public life, and who's said precisely nothing about the scandal engulfing the Tavistock Clinic. Where was her safeguarding when young women like Keira Bell were led down a path of irreversible medicalisation on the NHS? But what's most infuriating about Roca's smug sermon is his deluded belief that all that's needed is 'robust conversation' to 'bring people around' to his view that gender identity ought to outweigh the reality of biological sex. For a decade, gender lobbyists like Stonewall shut down debate, smeared dissenters as bigots, and undermined the democratic process by influencing public policy behind closed doors. When we wanted dialogue, they called it hate. Women trying to arrange discussions about now shelved proposals to reform the Gender Recognition Act faced bomb threats and intimidation from activists, and arrest and interrogation from Stonewall trained police forces. Thanks to their work, common sense has resurfaced, and it is sweeping through the nation. The public can see clearly who the real 'swivel-eyed' loons are: those who lock male rapists in women's prisons, who drug confused children, and earnestly believe you can be born in the wrong body.
Telegraph
18-07-2025
- Telegraph
‘Men can't be women' graffiti investigated as hate crime
Police are treating graffiti stating that 'men can't be women' as a hate crime, The Telegraph understands. Gloucestershire Constabulary are investigating after slogans were daubed around Stroud ahead of the town's annual Pride march. Police said they were 'targeted towards transgender people' and the incident is being treated as a 'hate crime', but did not reveal what the slogans said. The Telegraph understands that the slogans included statements such as 'men can't be women'. Others included 'you can't change sex', 'being female is not a costume', and 'transwomen are men', according to sources. Such statements are made by gender-critical campaigners, who argue biological sex is immutable and that biological men should not have access to women's bathrooms. This sex-realist view has been backed up by the Supreme Court in April, which ruled transwomen are not legally women for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010, and most famously championed by JK Rowling. Stroud Pride has denounced these views, and The Telegraph previously revealed that the Pride event planned to ban performers with gender-critical opinions that organisers deemed 'harmful'. In apparent protest against Stroud Pride's position, slogans were painted around the town ahead of the event on June 28. On the morning of Pride, police said in an online statement that officers attended a park in Stroud following 'reports anti-transgender graffiti had been sprayed on tarmac walkways and paving stones'. The incident drew the attention of hate crime coordinator, PC Steph Lawrence, who said: 'Hate crimes will not be tolerated and we will do all we can to ensure that people within our county feel safe in their day-to-day lives.' He added that 'Gloucestershire is a tolerant county, which is rich in diversity'. Concealed with pink hearts The slogans were either cleaned off by Stroud Council or covered with painted 'pink love hearts'. Photographs show that the slogan 'you can't change sex' was altered to say 'you can change sex' and left in place, along with new graffiti that stated 'trans rights'. Tony Davey, the Mayor of Stroud, said the original gender-critical slogans were an attempt to sow 'hate and division' and to 'instil fear'. The treatment of these slogans as a 'hate crime' comes amid increasing concern about the policing of 'hate', and the implications for free speech. On Remembrance Sunday last year, Essex Police attend the home of Telegraph journalist Allison Pearson to investigate a potential hate crime. It emerged she had been reported over a year-old and deleted social media post that police feared was stirring up racial hatred. The case was dropped after four days. The incident added to the debate over the recording of non-crime hate incidents (NCHI) by police. These are defined as an incident that is not criminal, but which is perceived to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards a person with a particular characteristic. Police are only supposed to record them where there is a serious risk of significant harm that could escalate into criminality, and not just because someone feels offended. Campaigners have warned that the recording of these hate incidents, which have been made for bizarre cases including a neighbour playing Bob Marley music, are having a chilling effect on free speech.
The Independent
07-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Detective who said trans event was like being in ‘lion's den' loses tribunal
A gender-critical Metropolitan Police detective who said she felt like 'Daniel in the lion's den' at an internal trans rights event has lost her employment tribunal case against the force. Detective Constable Melanie Newman claimed to have suffered 'isolation and dread' after a talk by a trans rights activist who said her 'haters' had 'twisted and warped' views. DC Newman said she wanted to challenge what was said but feared being 'labelled part of the cult'. After complaining about the event, she began legal action against the force, claiming to have suffered discrimination and harassment because of her beliefs. But the tribunal dismissed her claims, ruling that the Met was entitled to host the event. After winning the case, the Met said it demonstrated the 'difficulty organisations face in striking the balance' when it comes to trans rights issues. A South London employment tribunal heard the 'Trans Day of Visibility' event was organised for March 2023, and that all staff were invited to join. It took place in the force's headquarters at New Scotland Yard, with some attendees – including DC Newman – joining remotely. The former journalist joined the force in March 2022 and had been working for the Croydon criminal investigations department since January 2023. DC Newman, who believes biological sex is 'immutable', told the tribunal that guest speaker Eva Echo 'portrayed an extreme, one-sided and conspiratorial view of a complex debate'. The activist, who sits on the Crown Prosecution Service's hate crime panel, has accused author JK Rowling of being on a crusade to 'erase trans people', the tribunal was told. In her witness statement to the tribunal, DC Newman said: 'Eva Echo said that her political opponents on this issue were members of a cult, were 'obsessed' with 'twisted, warped' views, that their concerns were a 'manufactured moral panic' and that trans people were 'an easy target for their hate'.' DC Newman also told the tribunal that the activist said officers should contact their MPs and 'if you're unfortunate enough to have a Tory as an MP you can hound them'. She added: 'At various points during Eva Echo's talk I wanted to challenge what was said but was scared that I would then be labelled part of the 'cult' and that there would be repercussions.' Attendees 'hissed' when a speaker mentioned Posie Parker, a prominent gender-critical activist, the tribunal heard. DC Newman continued: 'I felt like an incognito Daniel in the lion's den. 'I was upset, however my overwhelming feeling was of isolation and dread at the knowledge that it was down to me — a trainee detective on probation, with no standing or support network in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) — to do something about what had happened. 'Out of 54,000 people in the MPS I felt there was no-one else I could speak to about this.' After DC Newman's complaints, the Met carried out a review of the event and established a 'gender critical network' for its staff. The harassment claim was dismissed because the tribunal found the event's purpose was not to 'harass those with gender critical beliefs'. Employment Judge Christina Morton added: 'We were unable to find in this contemporaneous documentation any evidence of discrimination towards gender critical beliefs operating on the minds of any of those who made these decisions.' After the ruling, a Met spokesperson said: 'The Met works with a range of community representatives who are expected to meet our standards of conduct and mutual respect. 'As an organisation we must balance a range of different views, including those from all sides of this debate which are protected in law. 'This case demonstrates how deeply polarising these issues are and highlights the difficulty organisations face in striking that balance.'
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Detective who said trans event was like being in ‘lion's den' loses tribunal
A gender-critical Metropolitan Police detective who said she felt like 'Daniel in the lion's den' at an internal trans rights event has lost her employment tribunal case against the force. Detective Constable Melanie Newman claimed to have suffered 'isolation and dread' after a talk by a trans rights activist who said her 'haters' had 'twisted and warped' views. DC Newman said she wanted to challenge what was said but feared being 'labelled part of the cult'. After complaining about the event, she began legal action against the force, claiming to have suffered discrimination and harassment because of her beliefs. But the tribunal dismissed her claims, ruling that the Met was entitled to host the event. After winning the case, the Met said it demonstrated the 'difficulty organisations face in striking the balance' when it comes to trans rights issues. A South London employment tribunal heard the 'Trans Day of Visibility' event was organised for March 2023, and that all staff were invited to join. It took place in the force's headquarters at New Scotland Yard, with some attendees – including DC Newman – joining remotely. The former journalist joined the force in March 2022 and had been working for the Croydon criminal investigations department since January 2023. DC Newman, who believes biological sex is 'immutable', told the tribunal that guest speaker Eva Echo 'portrayed an extreme, one-sided and conspiratorial view of a complex debate'. The activist, who sits on the Crown Prosecution Service's hate crime panel, has accused author JK Rowling of being on a crusade to 'erase trans people', the tribunal was told. In her witness statement to the tribunal, DC Newman said: 'Eva Echo said that her political opponents on this issue were members of a cult, were 'obsessed' with 'twisted, warped' views, that their concerns were a 'manufactured moral panic' and that trans people were 'an easy target for their hate'.' DC Newman also told the tribunal that the activist said officers should contact their MPs and 'if you're unfortunate enough to have a Tory as an MP you can hound them'. She added: 'At various points during Eva Echo's talk I wanted to challenge what was said but was scared that I would then be labelled part of the 'cult' and that there would be repercussions.' Attendees 'hissed' when a speaker mentioned Posie Parker, a prominent gender-critical activist, the tribunal heard. DC Newman continued: 'I felt like an incognito Daniel in the lion's den. 'I was upset, however my overwhelming feeling was of isolation and dread at the knowledge that it was down to me — a trainee detective on probation, with no standing or support network in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) — to do something about what had happened. 'Out of 54,000 people in the MPS I felt there was no-one else I could speak to about this.' After DC Newman's complaints, the Met carried out a review of the event and established a 'gender critical network' for its staff. The harassment claim was dismissed because the tribunal found the event's purpose was not to 'harass those with gender critical beliefs'. Employment Judge Christina Morton added: 'We were unable to find in this contemporaneous documentation any evidence of discrimination towards gender critical beliefs operating on the minds of any of those who made these decisions.' After the ruling, a Met spokesperson said: 'The Met works with a range of community representatives who are expected to meet our standards of conduct and mutual respect. 'As an organisation we must balance a range of different views, including those from all sides of this debate which are protected in law. 'This case demonstrates how deeply polarising these issues are and highlights the difficulty organisations face in striking that balance.'
