The Trans Agenda: Scottish Labour turn on trans people as papers target trans doctors

News you need, the perspective you won't find anywhere else. The trans community's guide to UK news, media and politics and our place in it.

Feb 23, 2025

The Trans Agenda

[23 February 2025]

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Transgender: How do you know by H Lee Hurley

UK & IRELAND NEWS

Scottish Labour U-turn on trans rights

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has reversed his party’s stance on the Gender Recognition Reform (GRR) Bill, lying that "knowing what we know now, we would not have supported the bill." He seems to have forgotten how comprehensive the consultation process was before Labour - and every other party - voted for it.

Sarwar previously whipped his MSPs to vote in favour of the bill in December 2022, which aimed to simplify the process for trans people to obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) by removing the medical requirement. However, the reforms were later blocked by the UK government after a sustained anti-trans media campaign.

In February 2023, Sarwar defended his support for the bill but insisted that "tighter curbs on sex offenders should have been introduced."

Now, in a complete reversal, he has distanced himself from the legislation, saying: "Looking back, the deep regret that that we have is that actually we didn't push harder on the amendments that we had as conditions for supporting the bill. And we took at face value the Scottish Government, on the record, they said that nothing in the legislation would negatively interact with the Equality Act. [edit - the Scottish Government was correct]

Sarwar also addressed the employment tribunal involving nurse Sandy Peggie, who accused NHS Fife of harassment because she had to work with a trans doctor. Peggie was suspended following complaints, which included her leaving vulnerable patients unattended because a trans person walked into the room.

Speaking on the case, Sarwar ignored most of the important details and said: “This isn't just about a government issuing guidance and then a health board choosing to either follow a guidance or not follow a guidance or interpret a guidance.

"This is about following the law, the actual law. And the Equality Act is very clear. So this actually undermines the argument, which is around how do we challenge transphobia and how do we make sure we are also challenging misogyny and sexism at the same time.

“Because there's a failure to respect the Equality Act [edit - yes, by the GC cult] and there is no robust action from government – who actually were notified about this and didn't take meaningful action.

“If we are going to stop falling into divisive culture war politics, if we are going to make sure we're making progress as a nation, then we've got to say quite clearly we support single sex spaces based on biological sex. We respect the Equality Act.”

This U-turn, complete with lies, misinformation and bigotry, signals a dramatic shift in Scottish Labour’s position on trans rights. Sarwar’s alignment with "single-sex spaces based on biological sex" moves the party away from its previous support for trans equality, and in-line with the governing Labour party in the UK.

NASUWT Scotland responds to Sarwar

Arts Council ordered to compensate diversity manager in trans rights win [Telegraph]

Afreena Islam-Wright, a diversity manager at Arts Council England (ACE), has won an unfair dismissal case after being investigated for comparing gender-critical beliefs to racism. She had criticised a grant given to the LGB Alliance, calling it a "cultural parasite and glorified hate group," and expressed concern for trans colleagues.

An employment tribunal ruled that Islam-Wright was acting to support trans and non-binary staff, and that ACE mishandled the situation, failing to follow informal procedures before taking disciplinary action. The tribunal upheld her unfair dismissal claim, though her victimisation claim was rejected. Her compensation will be determined later.

Concerns grow over misinformation and attacks on trans healthcare [What the Trans]

Two anonymous clinicians from the Tavistock GIDS clinic have revealed the forced culture of silence surrounding their work. Speaking out, they described an environment where concerns about trans healthcare were suppressed, limiting their ability to advocate for young trans patients.

0.02% of doctors are trans

After a week-long assault on trans doctors as the media try to protect their latest favourite bigot, the Sunday Telegraph revealed that there are 62 registered trans doctors in the UK. With around 300,000 doctors working in the UK, that works out at around 0.02%.

I am not a debate design — Tshirts, stickers and more

AROUND THE WORLD

USA: No evidence of hate crime in trans man’s killing, police say [New York Times]

Police say they have found no evidence that the killing of Sam Norquist, a 24-year-old transgender man, was a hate crime. Authorities stated that some or all of the five suspects charged with his murder are also LGBTQ. New York State Police and Ontario County District Attorney James Ritts confirmed Norquist knew his alleged killers, with at least one having lived with him in a motel. The Guardian report he was tortured from 'early December 2023 to February 2024'.

Two more arrested in death of transgender man Sam Nordquist [Advocate]

New York police have arrested Kimberly L. Sochia, 29, and Thomas G. Eaves, 21, charging them with second-degree murder of depraved indifference in connection with the torture and killing of 24-year-old transgender man Sam Nordquist. Nordquist’s body was found on 13 February in a field near Benton, following a period of prolonged abuse. He had travelled from Minnesota to New York to be with a girlfriend and was staying at a local motel at the time of his death. A total of seven arrests have so far been made.

Europe:

USA:

Citi bank quietly removes promotional material on trans-inclusive credit card program [Wall Street Journal]

Citi has removed promotional content from one of its career webpages that highlighted its program allowing transgender and nonbinary customers to use their chosen names on credit cards. The now-deleted statement had encouraged other financial institutions to follow suit, reading, “We want other banks to join us in enabling consumers to use their chosen name on their credit cards.” Citi has not publicly commented on the removal.

Australia: Family Court backs gender affirmation in landmark ruling [just.equal]

The Family Court of Australia has awarded sole parental responsibility to a mother supporting her trans son's hormone treatment, rejecting the father’s opposition. Justice Peter Tree, ruling in Brisbane, found that the risks of denying treatment outweighed any potential concerns, dismissing claims that the young person’s decision was impulsive.

The judgment discredited the UK Cass Review, citing its political motivations and limitations, and instead endorsed the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) guidelines, as well as Australian Standards of Care, as the most reliable frameworks for gender-affirming treatment.

USA: Young trans leaders launch national network to fight erasure [19th news]

Faced with a hostile political climate and an administration seeking to erase trans identities, young trans advocates are building their own leadership pipeline. Lily Rood, Jay Jones, and Forest Cusolito have founded the National Transgender Leadership Conference Committee (NTLCC) to cultivate trans leaders across the US. Their initiative will launch with a summit in Western Massachusetts, offering mentorship, advocacy training, and skills development for trans people entering leadership roles.

MEDIA

Telegraph describe LGB Alliance accurately

In article in Thursday’s Telegraph (see PAPER REVIEW), an unnamed reporter described the LGB Alliance as, “a campaign group founded to oppose the policies of LGBT rights charity Stonewall on transgender issues”. No wonder they didn’t put their name to the article - the GC cult will be furious with this accurate description. As we know, nothing annoys them more than reality.

Daily Mail use gender neutral pronouns for their staff

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Target learns the hard way: Dropping DEI comes with consequences [Yahoo Finance]

Target is facing a class action lawsuit and a $15.7 billion market loss after ending its DEI initiatives. Shareholders accuse the company of “artificially inflated” stock prices and failing to disclose risks tied to removing DEI and ESG policies. The backlash was immediate, with boycotts and civil rights leaders condemning the move, proving that abandoning diversity commitments carries a heavy price.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Full parliament business can be viewed here.

Monday 24 February

Debate: e-petition relating to a minimum age for social media, Westminster Hall, 4.30pm
Former Reform UK Wales leader Nathan Gill in court on bribery charges
USA: Donald Trump hosts Emmanuel Macron at the White House
Ukraine: 3^rd anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion

Tuesday 25 February

Oral questions: What progress has his Department made on tackling HIV and AIDS globally, House of Commons, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, 11.30am
Debate: Maternity Services, Westminster Hall, 9.30am
Committee: Met Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist on summer riots
Ofcom to announce quarterly price cap change

Wednesday 26 February

Prime Minister’s Questions, House of Commons, 12pm

Thursday 27 February

Quarterly immigration stats to be released
USA: Donald Trump hosts Keir Starmer
125 years ago: Labour founded

Saturday 1 March

The BRIT awards

Sunday 2 March

The Oscars (hosted by Conan O’Brien)

SHORTS

UKIP are pledging to reclassify 'transgenderism' as a 'mental health issue'. I forgot they were still a thing until I saw this, tbh.

THE PAPERS

It was somewhat quieter in the papers than it has been recently, with 22 articles this week compared to 30 last week and 32 the week before. The total, after 23 days of February stands at 87.

The Telegraph, with 12, have more than all the other papers I monitor combined and, for two days in a row, despite everything that is going on in the world, attacked trans doctors on their front page (Friday and Saturday).

That was the dominant narrative this week as the media attack Dr. Upton for having the temerity to stand up to her (alleged) GC abuser.

The Times had six articles while the Mail had four. Both joined in attacking trans doctors for no reason whatsoever.

The Guardian/Observer had nothing. Sonia Sodha doesn’t seem to write a column on the last weekend of the month, so there was nothing at all from her. Kathleen Stock was back, however, standing in for Hadley Freeman and producing the kind of shite the latter would be proud of.

Quoted, mentioned or featured this week: Sandie Peggie (x7), Murdo Fraser, Gendered Intelligence, Fiona McAnena, Sex Matters (x4), Ben Dybowski, LGB Alliance, Maya Forstater, Kristie Higgs (x2), Wes Streeting (x4), Sarah Vine KC (x2), Dr Louise Irvine, Helen Joyce (x2), Zoe Hollowood, Liberal Voice for Women, Harold Shipman.

Whose bylines were on all these articles? Daniel Sanderson (x2), letters, Sanchez Manning, our foreign staff, Alan Cochrane, anon (x3), Craig Simpson, Shaun Wooller, Jonathan Ames, Peter Chappell, Laura Donnelly (x3), George Chesterton, Kamal Sultan, Jan Moir, Jawad Iqbal, Kathleen Stock, Ellie McDonald, Michael Deacon.

What was this week’s standout: The way the papers have united to attack trans doctors, providing yet more evidence of how this is all co-ordinated.

Spotted or know something you think I should include in the Trans Agenda?

THE PAPERS Monday 17 February- Sunday 23 February

Monday Total: 2

The Guardian [0]

The Times [0]

Daily Mail [1]

Telegraph [1]

Tuesday Total: 1

The Guardian [0]

The Times [0]

Daily Mail [0]

Telegraph [1]

Wednesday Total: 3

The Guardian [0]

The Times [0]

Daily Mail [0]

Telegraph [3]

How cricket bosses let trans activists call the shots The Telegraph can reveal that the group Gendered Intelligence is advising the ECB on how to incorporate trans women into the grassroots sport, including matches involving children. By Sanchez Manning The Daily Telegraph19 Feb 2025The Telegraph Maxine Blythin, who is now 30, at the Women’s London Championship in 2021 As the opening ball hurtled towards her with a power and speed that could only come from a male player, Lucy’s first thought was for the safety of the young female cricketers on the pitch. The captain of a local team from Hampshire, she had been excited to have girls aged 12 to 15 in her line-up, all of whom were getting the chance to “play up” against adult opponents and improve their game. But what Lucy had not bargained for was that they would be facing, on the opposing team, a 5ft 10in player, aged over 40, who was born male but identified as a woman. “Immediately as they started to bowl I thought ‘Oh god,’” Lucy says, as she recalls what unfolded at the match last May. “They were so powerful and a very good player. I thought my girls are really going to struggle with this.” Lucy, 39, was so fearful that one of the girls might be injured by the sheer pace and force at which the balls were being bowled by the trans player, she initially insisted that only she should bat. “If they had been hit by that ball they would have got injured,” she says. The game became even more nerve-racking when the trans player stepped up to bat. The player “hit the ball so hard it nearly took out one of my players who is 14 years old”, says Lucy. Fortunately, the male-born trans woman cricketer was bowled out early after hitting her own wicket. “But, afterwards, the umpire said to me if that player hadn’t gone off he would have ended the match because it wasn’t safe.” Lucy is not alone in worrying about official rules that permit biological males who identify as female to play in what were previously single-sex games. There has been growing criticism across the country from female players, parents and cricketing officials of the transgender policy introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), the sport’s governing body. In a long-awaited update published last October, the ECB banned transgender women from its new professional and semiprofessional competitions. But the rules continued to allow trans women to play in women’s teams at grassroots level. Now it transpires that, weeks after the row first surfaced last autumn, the ECB organised training for staff involved in grassroots cricket across the country, by a trans activist group, Gendered Intelligence. The group opposed last year’s ban by the Government of the sale and supply of puberty blockers to under-18s and has caused controversy by giving seminars in schools to children as young as four on changing gender. An online seminar, Trans & Non-Binary Inclusion in Recreational Cricket, was held by the ECB on Dec 4. The advice given to coaches and other figures involved in grassroots cricket included avoiding the use of “collective terms” such as “boys” and “ladies” and considering “alternatives, eg, ‘players’, ‘team’, ‘everyone’, ‘folks’.” The presentation also stated: “Assume people choose the facilities that are the best fit for them.” Further guidance, by Gendered Intelligence, which was distributed by the ECB following the seminar, included a document entitled “Including Trans People and Non-Binary People in Grassroots Sport”, which claimed it is a “myth” trans women are “disproportionately tall, heavy and strong, and dangerous to play with or against”. “Neither safety nor fairness are absolute, and both are contextual,” the report added. “We need to examine our understandings of what constitutes fairness and what creates safety and apply those understandings to everyone.” It further advised that trans women should be allowed to access female facilities such as changing rooms and toilets, while reiterating the point that clubs should be encouraged to practise “sharing pronouns” and avoid terms such as “ladies” and “lads”. Gendered Intelligence, whose head of professional and educational services delivered the training, advises that sports often wrongly focus on whether transgender women have had medical treatment to change gender and have reduced their testosterone when many trans people only socially transition. At the same time, the group warns against using testosterone levels as an eligibility criterion to decide whether transgender players should be allowed to play in women’s sporting categories as they say this acts as a barrier to their participation. Its guidance states: “Significant physical diversity is inherently part of grassroots sport and we can recognise trans and non-binary people as part of that diversity.” Gendered Intelligence did not respond to questions from The Telegraph. To critics of the ECB’s approach, the use of what is viewed as a highly partisan group to provide training on gender issues is further evidence that cricket’s governing body is failing to listen to concerns about the fairness and safety of women’s cricket. The ECB receives millions of pounds in public funding. About 1 per cent of its annual revenue of some £300million comes from Sport England, a quango sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Last year the Conservative government announced that £35million would be given to the ECB to inject into grassroots cricket, although that funding was put on hold by Labour in the autumn. Fiona McAnena, director of campaigns at the Sex Matters campaign group, says: “Why is a sporting body listening to an activist organisation that recommends letting men access women’s changing rooms and play in women’s teams?”. While cricket involves no contact between players, those inside the sport say there are real dangers and a deep unfairness in pitting women and girls against trans players who are biologically male – namely that they have physical advantages that often enable them to bat or bowl faster and harder than females. Such concerns have been pushed into even sharper focus by the fact that, from the age of 12 or 13, girls can “play up” in adult games so in theory could be facing much older trans women under the ECB’s policy. has received numerous testimonies from players, parents and cricketing officials voicing their opposition to allowing biological males who identify as women or girls to play in femaleonly matches. A young female player who has faced a 6ft 4in trans player, Maxine Blythin, in a women’s game spoke of her fear that girls are now potentially losing places in elite cricket to rivals who are born male. The player, who stands at 5ft 5in, asked not to be named but described her encounter with Blythin, 30. “This person was very imposing,” she remembers. “During the warm-ups, you start seeing them bowling and then hitting in the nets, then you see this is a biological man and the difference in power.” She continued: “This was a competitive performance game. You’ve spent years aiming to play games like this – then the first time you turn up there is essentially a man playing. It’s very demoralising to see girls who want to end up in the England women’s squad losing opportunities because they’re having to play against players that they weren’t expecting to play against.” Blythin, who transitioned as a teenager, told Sky Sports in 2019: “I was born with a condition that meant I never had any real levels of testosterone, which meant I never went through any form of male puberty. That condition means I’m eligible to play women’s sport at any level, in any sport, naturally.” A mother of a 13-year-old girl says her daughter is likely to give up cricket if the ECB does not make changes to its trans policy. “My concern is that it’s always the boys who are identifying into the girls’ game and women have fought very hard over the years for single-sex sport, because of course girls and women are physically different to men in sport. So it seems to me to be unfair and unsafe to have boys/men being part of the women’s games.” The ECB says its decision to ‘If the ECB won’t listen then I think the Government should step in and sort this out’ exclude grassroots cricket from its trans ban last October was the result of an “extensive consultation” that considered the interaction between “fairness, safety and inclusion”. However, the move was condemned by critics who said it ensured safety and fairness for 300 professional women, but not for the 33,000 amateur female cricketers across the country. The ECB has defended its decision by saying that the safety of women and girls in grassroots cricket was covered by a “Disparity Policy” that it introduced in 2023. This policy states that, where there is concern about the safety of players in grassroots matches with a “disparity” between participants, then cricket officials should take steps such as “requesting that a stronger player exercise caution” or Whilst the vast majority of discussion currently revolves around the inclusion of trans women in women’s sport, it is important for every sport to consider the full range of TNB-spectrum experiences around sex and gender. This includes: – Trans women – Trans men – Non-binary people, both AMAB (Assigned Male at Birth) and AFAB (Assigned Female at Birth) – Gender fluid people – Agender people – Young trans, non-binary, gender fluid and/or agender people – People who have used medical intervention such as puberty suppressing hormones, gender affirming hormones etc, and those who haven’t Trans women, who tend to be under most scrutiny in discussions around trans and non-binary inclusion in sport, can find themselves barred from women’s sport by blanket bans or by hormone-based eligibility criteria, or made so unwelcome that they can’t participate. In such circumstances they are faced with the choice of either giving up the sport, or playing on a men’s team which many find deeply inappropriate and too distressing to do. Some trans men don’t wish to move to the men’s team – they can find it too big a leap, at least to start with, and/or find the culture too “laddish”. Non-binary people may not find a workable place on gendered teams at all. The benefits of sport include many social and support aspects, so requiring a trans/non-binary person to move teams as soon as they begin to transition medically is to cut them off from what is likely to be one of the key social networks they need at that time. requiring protective equipment be worn. But those involved in women’s cricket have condemned these guidelines as unworkable. A case in point is the Hampshire team’s cricket match, during which the captain, Lucy, recalled how those present dared not question the trans player’s strength or make any reference to the fact they were biologically male for fear of being accused of transphobia. “No one knew what to do,” says Lucy. “This player had been told their ability was too much for a higher league, yet they still played in our match. But you can’t say anything or you will be labelled prejudiced, which I’m absolutely not. The girls kept asking me: ‘Is that a man?’ – as there was no mistaking their sex at birth. “But I literally said, ‘We can’t talk about that’, although that’s very difficult when you’ve got 12 and 13-year-olds asking you questions.” The Gendered Intelligence training, which emphasises the risk of offending trans players with poor choice of language, might do little to ease those concerns. A county cricket board member employed by the ECB – who spoke to on condition of anonymity – is equally sceptical, agreeing that it is “totally unrealistic” to expect volunteer umpires to impose the “disparity policy” rules on trans players. She says: “So if you’re at a match and you turn up to see that the opposition has got what looks like a man on the team, it is very difficult, particularly in today’s climate, to go up to the opposition and say: ‘I’m sorry, but we know that’s a man so he can’t play’. It could turn very unpleasant.” In addition, questions have been raised about how truly “extensive” the ECB’s consultation on this issue was. One mother who contacted the ECB to ask exactly who and how many people they had consulted with says she was met with a flat refusal to give this information. The campaign group SEEN in Sport says the ECB also refused to provide them with details of the consultation after a survey of grassroots cricket volunteers found 79 per cent were opposed to biological males participating in the female category in both amateur and professional events. An ECB spokesman says: “We want everyone to feel included and welcomed into our sport. We took considerable time and consultation on recent updates to our Transgender Participation Policy, which considered the interaction between fairness, safety and inclusion with equal value. “The policy includes safeguards to manage disparity and ensure safety. The Disparity Policy has been updated for the 2025 season, and we will be providing additional training for umpires on its application. “It is important that any club, league or cricket board that has a safety concern should report it to an ECB Safety Panel so that the situation can be formally reviewed and addressed. “We are not aware that any of the claims regarding safety in this article have been reported to an ECB Safety Panel.” Sharron Davies, the former Olympic swimmer, says the Government should force the ECB’s hand if it continues to ignore demands to extend the ban on trans women competing in female matches to grassroots cricket. Davies, who has repeatedly spoken out on the importance of keeping women’s sport singlesex, said: “I hear from distraught parents worried about their girls facing male fast bowlers and powerful batting. It’s just not fair and sometimes it’s not safe. If the ECB won’t listen then I think the Government should step in and make them sort this out.” McAnena adds: “The message to women and girls from the ECB is that the feelings of men who identify as women come first. “Any national governing body that genuinely wanted to promote female participation would listen to the women begging for this to be stopped.” Article Name:How cricket bosses let trans activists call the shots Publication:The Daily Telegraph Author:The Telegraph Start Page:4 End Page:4

‘Trans vegan cult leader’ arrested over deaths Anarchist ‘Zizians’ group of computer whizzkids linked to six killings in US including of border guard The Daily Telegraph19 Feb 2025By Our Foreign Staff THE alleged leader of a radical “transgender vegan cult” linked to six deaths across the US has been arrested in Maryland. Jack “Ziz” Lasota, 34, the founder of an anarchist group known as “Zizians”, was detained on Sunday with Michelle Zajko, 32, who is believed to be a member of the group. The Zizians are said to be a group of intelligent individuals including computer scientists who have worked for Google and Nasa who developed radical views on veganism, gender identity and artificial intelligence. The “cult” has been linked to a spate of deaths, including the shooting of David Maland, a US border patrol agent, in Vermont as well as coast-to-coast killings in Pennsylvania and California. Lasota, who is transgender and uses female pronouns but is referred to as male in court filings, faces charges that include trespass, obstructing and hindering and possession of a handgun. Ms Zajko, 32, was arrested on charges including resisting or interfering with arrest and having a handgun on his person. US officials have offered few details of the country-wide investigation, which intensified after Mr Maland was shot dead on Jan 20. The 44-year-old was killed in a shootout after he pulled over a car in Coventry, Vermont, a small town about 20 miles from the Canadian border. Teresa Youngblut, 21, another alleged Zizian member, has been charged in connection with Mr Marland’s death. She has pleaded not guilty. An alleged Zizian was also killed in the shooting, Felix Bauckholt, a 26-yearold German maths whizz. Baukhold was transgender and used the name Ophelia. Jessica Taylor, who met Bauckholt at an event in New York, described the Zizians as a group of “highly intelligent, transgender, vegans” which amounted to a “death cult”. She told NBC News that Bauckholt had not seemed concerned by some of the extreme views of the group such as the “importance of retribution under some circumstances”. Lasota, the alleged cult leader, who is understood to wear dark robes and call ‘I was viscerally afraid of Lasota in a way I’ve never been afraid of anybody’ herself a “sith” – a reference to the evil group in the Star Wars films devoted to the “dark side”, published an at times violent blog under the name Ziz. One post described a theory that the hemispheres of the brain could hold separate values and genders and “often desire to kill each other”. Those who knew Lasota have described her as a terrifying figure. The computer programmer moved to Silicon Valley in 2016 after graduating from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and completing an internship in Nasa.while in California, she and some of her associates attended events organised by Anna Salamon, a co-founder of the nonprofit Center for Applied Rationality. Ms Salamon said in hindsight they had been “creating conditions for a cult”. “I was viscerally afraid of Lasota in a way I’ve never been viscerally afraid of anybody,” Ms Salamon told NBC News. In 2019 Lasota and three associates showed up at an event hosted by the Centre for Applied Rationality wearing robes and Guy Fawkes masks and blocked the entrances of the grounds. They were arrested and charged with criminal conspiracy and five misdemeanours including false imprisonmen The web of killings also includes a faked death. Lasota was reported to have gone missing during a boating accident in August 2022. An obituary was published in Lasota’s hometown’s local paper but no body was found. Other deaths linked to the cult include Zajko’s parents and the group’s former landlord Curtis Lind. Zajko was previously questioned over the deaths of her parents Richard and Rita Zajko, who were shot dead in their home in Chester Heights, Pennsylvania on New Year’s Eve 2022. A doorbell camera captured audio and video of a car pulling up at the house, with a voice shouting, “mom” according to a Pennsylvania state police affidavit. Zajko was detained at a hotel room ad questioned by police but was never formally charged. Lasota, who had been listed as dead, was found at the same hotel and was arrested for refusing to cooperate with officers. The Zizians were also linked to the murder of Curtis Lind, an 82-year-old landlord in Vallejo, California. Mr Lind was impaled with a sword by an alleged Zizian member, Emma Borhanian, in a dispute over rent in 2022. Mr Lind fought back and shot Borhanian dead, with police ruling that he acted in self-defence. He was due to testify about the attack last month but was found dead, having been stabbed in the neck. Zizian member Maximilian Snyder, a 22-year-old data scientist and Oxford graduate, who goes by Audere, was charged with Mr Lind’s murder. Contacted by The Telegraph, Daniel Mcgarrigle, Lasota’s lawyer, shared a statement from last month in which he claimed Lasota is “wholly and unequivocally innocent of the charges filed in this case”. Article Name:‘Trans vegan cult leader’ arrested over deaths Publication:The Daily Telegraph Author:By Our Foreign Staff Start Page:13 End Page:13

Thursday Total: 5

The Guardian [0]

The Times [2]

Sacking ordeal bizarre, says Christian Jonathan Ames - Legal Editor Kristie Higgs won her legal battle Days before the Christmas break seven years ago, senior teachers at a secondary school in Gloucestershire ordered one of their administrators to attend a disciplinary meeting. Over six and a half hours, Kristie Higgs was accused of being a “neo-Nazi extremist” for sharing her beliefs about LGBT relationships in two private social media posts. Shortly after the holidays, Higgs was sacked from her role as a pastoral administrator at the Farmor’s School in Fairford. That decision threw Higgs and her family into a years-long legal battle that ended last week when the Court of Appeal ruled she had been wrongfully dismissed. Three judges, led by Lord Justice Underhill, said the secondary school’s decision to sack Higgs “was unquestionably a disproportionate response”. They added that there “was no evidence that the reputation of the school had thus far been damaged” and that “there was no possibility that, even if readers of the posts associated [Higgs] with the school, they would believe that they represented its own views”. Prior to her sacking, Higgs had spent seven years at Farmor’s in a job she loved. Speaking to The Times, the mother of two boys said she “really enjoyed seeing the children grow from being young to strapping people”. But Higgs’s job ended when she became concerned about what her son, who was eight at the time, was being taught at his Church of England primary, which was not the school Higgs worked at. He brought a letter home informing parents that books from a programme devised by No Outsiders, a diversity charity, were to be introduced during lessons. Higgs accepted an invitation to come to the school and review the books that were going to be used. Higgs noted that one publication, My Princess Boy, a 2009 picture book about a boy who likes to wear a tiara and dresses, caught her attention, as did another, Red: A Crayon’s Story, which tells the story of a crayon who “suffers an identity crisis”. Higgs told the teacher that she thought the books contained transgender themes, which she considered inappropriate for her son and asked that he be exempted from the lessons. The school agreed, although Higgs said she remained concerned over plans to ultimately make those materials compulsory. She then posted two comments on Facebook. Her account was under her maiden name, did not link her to Farmor’s School and was open only to a few family and friends. Within a day, the head teacher at Farmor’s had received an anonymous complaint and two days later Higgs was suspended. The formal disciplinary hearing was held in a hotel with Higgs facing a panel of six that included at least one school governor. “It was really bizarre. The chairman seemed to be trying to help the woman who had conducted the investigation. And he suddenly turned and said to me that [my social media post] was like being a neo-Nazi extremist,” Higgs said. “I was in shock. I could see that they were against me — I just had to sit there and face it.” After she was sacked, Higgs launched an appeal with the school that failed. It was then that her pastor referred her to the Christian Legal Centre, which took her case to an employment tribunal and ultimately to vindication at the appeal court. The centre, in Marylebone, central London, supported her from 2018. As to her views on whether there is any place for discussing transgenderism and sex education more widely in primary schools, she said: “It was a Church of England school — they should be going by God’s word and that alone.” Lawyers for Higgs are now pressing for compensation. After the appeal judges backed her claim last week, Higgs stood on the steps of the Royal Courts of Justice to say: “I pray that today will prove to be a landmark day for Christian freedoms and free speech.”

Inclusive language invited to the dance Peter Chappell Folk dancers should refrain from using terms such as “ladies and gentlemen” in order to be more inclusive, a leading music organisation has said. The English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS), which is supported by Arts Council England, has advised teachers to use gender-neutral language when addressing dancers. The Telegraph reported that the society’s guidance on inclusion and accessibility says such language could offend “minority genders” and should be avoided to prevent anyone being “misgendered on the dance floor”. The guidance says: “Use gender free language when calling dances. This ultimately makes your event more accessible to everyone and prevents people, usually women and minority genders, from regularly being misgendered on the dancefloor. If you address a dancer directly, do not assume their gender or pronouns if you don’t know them, as there are plenty of easier ways for someone to be identified, such as their position in the set or the colour of a piece of clothing they are wearing. “Consider introducing yourself with your own pronouns to make others feel more comfortable to do so. “It’s important to note that in some circumstances, gendered calling can be more accessible to some people. In all circumstances call with your dance community in mind and be careful to avoid misgendering dancers as a default position.” The EFDSS, which was formed in 1932, has raised concerns over other long-established dancing terms, such as “partner”, suggesting that it could be problematic. The guidance states: “Saying ‘couples’ or ‘partner/partners’ in some contexts can make single people who are attending alone feel excluded, or could make people feel uncomfortable in regard to how their relationship status is being perceived.” The EFDSS said the guidelines would “provide a framework for building safer spaces within the social folk dance world”. The EFDSS, which is based in Camden, north London, has taken a leading role in preserving and promoting folk music and dance, with ceilidhs, barn dances and morris dances. The society also takes care to alert morris dance teachers over health concerns. It warns: “Don’t forget to check if anyone has any injuries or particular disabilities and assess how best they can be included in morris dancing. The walking and stepping as described will mobilise the ankles, knees and, to some extent, hips.”

Daily Mail [1]

‘Union betrayed female nurses in trans doctor row’ Daily Mail20 Feb 2025By Shaun Wooller Health Editor Accusations: Dr Beth Upton THE Royal College of Nursing has been accused of ‘abandoning’ its female members in a row over single-sex spaces. The union boasts it is ‘committed to making equity and inclusion an everyday reality’ for its 540,000 members. But human rights campaigners warn the RCN is putting the rights of transgender people ahead of the rights of women, who make up 90 per cent of the nursing workforce. It comes amid an employment tribunal brought by nurse Sandie Peggie, who was suspended from work in January 2024 after objecting to trans medic Dr Beth Upton using a female changing room. The nurse was accused of bullying and harassing the doctor at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife, which she denies. She then lodged a complaint against NHS Fife and Dr Upton – a claim of sexual harassment or harassment related to her gender-critical beliefs under the Equality Act 2010. The RCN website says it is an organisation of ‘nursing legal experts’ that provides ‘advice and representation’ on a range of workplace issues. It claims its in-house legal team is the ‘largest of any union in the ‘They feel abandoned’ UK’. But the union has refused to represent Ms Peggie at the tribunal or in a separate disciplinary hearing, where she is accused of ‘misgendering’ Dr Upton. The RCN has posted on social media: ‘We celebrate trans nursing staff, and remain unwavering in our commitment to end transphobia in nursing.’ Maya Forstater, of human rights charity Sex Matters, said: ‘Sandie has been let down unforgivably by the RCN, which refused her request for legal assistance.’ Margaret Gribbon, Ms Peggie’s solicitor, said: ‘Many trade unions’ track record on this issue is poor causing many of their members, especially women, to feel abandoned and betrayed. If they are to fulfil their core function of properly representing their members, they must be at the forefront of advocating for women’s right to single-sex spaces in the workplace and to challenging employers who discriminate, harass and victimise those holding lawful gender critical beliefs.’ Ms Peggie’s barrister told Dr Upton at the Dundee tribunal: ‘The reason some of your female colleagues might be unhappy was obvious. You’re male. At least some of those women might experience this as an invasion of privacy.’ Dr Upton said: ‘I’m not male. Why they might be uncomfortable with me is up to them. ‘I would disagree that I’m male and would disagree that my presence in the changing room is an invasion of privacy in their space.’ RCN Scotland said: ‘We do not comment on individual cases, treat all our members’ right to confidentiality with the utmost importance, and believe it is vital that all parties are treated with dignity and respect.’ The tribunal was adjourned on Friday and will resume in July. Article Name:‘Union betrayed female nurses in trans doctor row’ Publication:Daily Mail Author:By Shaun Wooller Health Editor Start Page:19 End Page:19

Telegraph [2]

Arts Council faces payout over trans row Organisation’s diversity chief who likened gendercritical beliefs to racism wins unfair dismissal case The Daily Telegraph20 Feb 2025By Telegraph Reporter AN ARTS COUNCIL diversity manager investigated after she compared gender critical beliefs to racism has won a payout for unfair dismissal. Afreena Islam-wright became upset after a grant was awarded to the LGB Alliance, a campaign group founded to oppose the policies of LGBT rights charity Stonewall on transgender issues. She said she would “feel terrified” if co-workers were making “openly racist statements” and “can’t imagine” what transgender colleagues were going through at finding out about the grant. An employment tribunal heard the “hasty, ill-informed and ill-thought” comments upset staff who held gender-critical views, meaning they believe biological sex cannot be changed, and she was taken to a disciplinary meeting. She has now successfully sued Arts Council England (ACE) for unfair dismissal after the tribunal found she had made the comments because she was “motivated solely” to support transgender and non-binary colleagues. The hearing in Manchester was told Mrs Islam-wright began working for the arts organisation as a diversity relationship manager in September 2020. In April 2022 an organisation called the London Community Foundation awarded a grant out of ACE funding it had been given to the organisation LGB Alliance. The tribunal heard that although ACE was not involved in the funding decision it faced criticism, internally and externally. Mrs Islam-wright later commented on a spreadsheet, emailed to all employees, asking for support for trans staff. Mrs Islam-wright’s comment read: “If I came to work one day, and attended a drop-in session where staff members were openly making racist statements, and asking [ACE] what protection would be offered to them as race critical staff members – I would feel terrified. “I’m very concerned that gender-critical staff members make funding decisions and believe it is of the utmost importance that trans awareness training is delivered… We can’t necessarily ‘train’ people out of being transphobic, but we can make it clear that we don’t tolerate transphobia.” She also called the LGB Alliance a “cultural parasite and glorified hate group”. In June 2022 she was invited to a disciplinary investigation meeting where she claimed her comments were not directed at specific colleagues. She was shown two anonymous statements from “gender-critical” colleagues who said being compared to racists had an “adverse impact” on them. She quit before the next meeting and took the Arts Council to the tribunal claiming unfair dismissal and victimisation. Upholding her unfair dismissal claim, the tribunal found that trust between Mrs Islam-wright and ACE had been “seriously damaged” and that informal processes should have been followed first and that the relationship manager’s complaint should have been “properly considered”. Mrs Islam-wright’s victimisation claim was dismissed. Her compensation will be decided at a later date. Article Name:Arts Council faces payout over trans row Publication:The Daily Telegraph Author:By Telegraph Reporter Start Page:10 End Page:10

Drop ‘ladies and gents’, folk dancers urged Callers at barn dances and ceilidhs face difficult task to avoid ‘misgendering’ as term ‘partners’ also tricky The Daily Telegraph20 Feb 2025By Craig Simpson FOLK dancing should drop terms like “ladies and gentlemen” to avoid offending minority genders, a leading music organisation has said. The English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS) is trying to make centuries-old traditions more “inclusive” and the charity, which is backed by the Arts Council, has created guidance for teachers and those hosting group dances to use “gender-free language”. Barn and ceilidh dances often have defined male and female roles, with the caller, who guides participants through complex steps, using terms such as “men and women”, “ladies and gentlemen” or “boys and girls”. The society’s guidance on inclusion and accessibility states such vocabulary could offend minority genders and should be dropped to avoid anyone being “misgendered on the dance floor”. The term “misgendered” is used by non-binary and transgender people for when they are described by a gender with which they no longer identify. The guidance urges dance callers to “not assume their gender or pronouns”, but to consider “introducing yourself with your own pronouns” and seek to identify dancers not by their gender, but by their clothing or position in the room. Ceilidhs are often arranged on a vast scale, involving crowds who need to be efficiently arranged by a dance caller and then coached through traditional patterns and moves. The EFDSS has raised concerns over other long-established and fundamental dancing terms, such as “partner”, suggesting that it could be problematic. The guidance states: “Saying ‘couples’ or ‘partner/partners’ in some contexts can make single people who are attending alone feel excluded, or could make people feel uncomfortable in regard to how their relationship status is being perceived.” Guidance produced for the folk dancing community in 2024 stipulates that callers and organisers should “model good consent” by not pressuring people into joining a dance. Dancers themselves have also been advised to be conscious of dance floor consent, with guidelines stating: “If you ask someone to dance, you should be prepared to accept no as an answer without expecting an explanation.” Participants should also “avoid touching other dancers unnecessarily”, according to the guidelines, which also offer advice on making events more accessible for disabled people. The EFDSS said the guidelines will “provide a framework for building safer spaces in the social folk dance world”. The society, founded in 1932, is based in Camden, north London and has taken a leading role in both preserving and promoting folk music and dancing. It also maintains the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, named for the famed composer and folk enthusiast, which is England’s main repository of folk songs. Following the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, the organisation made a series of commitments to equality and diversity and pledged to “foster a new, more diverse folk scene suited to our multicultural, 21st-century landscape”. In the past the EFDSS has made statements to repudiate its own founder, Cecil Sharp, a leading Edwardian collector of folk songs, who, the charity has said, “held some offensive opinions and his writings identify him to have expressed racist views”. ‘The guidelines provide a framework for building safer spaces in the social folk dance world’ Article Name:Drop ‘ladies and gents’, folk dancers urged Publication:The Daily Telegraph Author:By Craig Simpson Start Page:11 End Page:11

Friday Total: 5

The Guardian [0]

The Times [2]

Trans doctors are given clean records Ellie McDonald Wes Streeting has raised concerns after an investigation found that doctors who change gender are able to have past wrongdoings removed from the public record. The health secretary said the General Medical Council (GMC), which regulates doctors, should urgently overhaul its practices, adding that the situation should “not have been allowed”. The GMC holds a public register of all doctors, which allows the public to check if a medic has been subject to restrictions, suspensions or struck off. Yesterday the GMC admitted that it erases the public disciplinary history of doctors who change gender identities, raising the prospect that medics seeking to hide their disciplinary history could exploit the system by changing gender identity to erase their past. Streeting has demanded immediate changes from the regulator. He told The Telegraph: “This is extremely concerning, and should not have been allowed to happen. It is completely within the power of the GMC to find a workaround for this that means transparency for patients.” It came after The Telegraph revealed that when medics seek to change their gender status on the GMC record they can do so without any supporting evidence.

Daily Mail [2]

Telegraph [1]

Trans doctors given clean records Streeting urges GMC to close loophole that erases complaints after gender change The Daily Telegraph21 Feb 2025By Laura Donnelly and George Chesterton DOCTORS who change gender are able to have past wrongdoings scrubbed from the public record, a Telegraph investigation has revealed. The General Medical Council (GMC) has admitted that it erases the public disciplinary history of doctors after they change their gender identities, and that this had happened more than 60 times. The watchdog regulates medics and holds a register of all doctors, allowing the public to check whether a medic has been subject to restrictions, suspensions or struck off. It raises the prospect that medics seeking to hide a chequered disciplinary history could exploit the system by changing their gender identity in order to erase their past. It also means that a female patient who specifically requested a female doctor would be unable to find out if their doctor was born a man. Last night, Wes Streeting raised concerns and said the GMC must overhaul the system, adding that the situation should “never have been allowed”. The Health Secretary told The Telegraph: “This is extremely concerning and should not have been allowed to happen. It is completely within the power of the GMC to find a work-around that means transparency for patients as well as protections in the Equality Act are preserved. I expect them to make reassurances that they will address this.” The Telegraph can also reveal that medics who seek to change their “gender status” on the GMC record can do so without any supporting evidence. Such medics – who include Dr Beth Upton, a trans doctor now at the centre of a legal case in Scotland – are issued with a new registration and a fresh GMC number. All public links on the watchdog’s register between old and new identities are erased – meaning that any historical misdemeanours, such as previous suspensions, are wiped from the slate. The GMC’S position came to light after a retired anaesthetist contacted The Telegraph, raising concerns that Dr Upton had been given a new registration number. “Because the GMC has an even more important role than it did a couple of decades ago – recording and marking the careers of doctors – people need to be confident about the identities of doctors,” the retired doctor said. Dr Upton is at the centre of an employment tribunal against NHS Fife. Sandie Peggie, a nurse, said she was subjected to harassment by being made to share a changing room at Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, with Dr Upton, who was born male but insisted on using the women’s changing room. The GMC has now confirmed that Dr Upton is one of 62 doctors to have been given new registrations. The regulator said: “If a doctor had received a historical sanction [i.e. the suspension is no longer in place] prior to transitioning, this information would not be available on their new publicfacing record on the medical register.” This means that current patients would be unable to see any details of their doctor’s previous identity by searching the GMC’S online database using their new name and number. The loophole raises the prospect that those who wish to cover up previous sanctions could change their gender identity to exploit the system. It follows a crackdown in prisons, where trans offenders were previously able to move to women-only prisons, even if they had male genitalia and a history of sex crimes, until rules were changed in 2023. According to its own guidelines, the GMC does not require doctors to “provide any evidence of your change in gender status”. When a doctor changes their gender status, information about their pre-transition career is not transferred to their post-transition page. There is no suggestion that Dr Upton has faced any such disciplinary actions. The GMC said the records of doctors pre- and post-transition were still linked internally, but that the links could not be seen by the public. According to the regulator, this information would not be available on their new public-facing record “because there are clear legal protections afforded to individuals, including doctors, who transition, and relate to the use and disclosure of their personal information. This includes human rights and equalities law, data protection law and the Gender Recognition Act”. However, leading lawyers said their justification was “unsustainable” saying there was a strong public interest in knowing a doctor’s disciplinary hearing. Sarah Vine, a KC at Doughty Street Chambers said: “There is a strong public interest in knowing a doctor’s disciplinary history. It’s very hard to argue that a doctor’s privacy is something that can override that legitimate purpose. It looks like a wholesale misreading of the application of human rights, domestic equality law and the Gender Recognition Act.” If a doctor was struck off they could not identify as a different gender and re-register. But an upheld suspension against a doctor, which would normally be visible on the register for years, depending on the circumstances, would be obscured from public view with a new gender identity. Suspensions of more than three months are normally kept on GMC records for 15 years, with records held for 10 years for shorter suspensions. The GMC said it was unable to tell The Telegraph if any of the 62 doctors who have been issued with new numbers had any disciplinary measures taken against them under their previous identity. The lack of any link between old and new identities also means that patients are unable to find out the biological sex of their doctor. “There are extremely serious implications ‘Female patients, who may have requested a female doctor, have not consented to be examined by a man’ for the GMC issuing new numbers – essentially new identities – to 62 doctors,” Helen Joyce, the director of advocacy at Sex Matters, a gender-critical human rights charity, said. Dr Louise Irvine, a GP who is co-chair of the Clinical Advisory Network on Sex and Gender, says: “When you look up ‘Dr Beth Upton’ and you don’t see any reference to the doctor’s professional life or records before the change of identity and GMC number, including previous name, then you have a problem with accountability and transparency. “That should be the public purpose of the GMC. They shouldn’t be obscuring past information.” According to the record of Dr Upton’s previous entry, registration to be a doctor was “relinquished” in April 2023. No mention of this is on her current record. A patient has no way to find this former male identity, nor any way of knowing if the doctor they were looking up had transitioned, when it had occurred and what their previous identity was. Women’s groups said the lack of clear information about the biological sex of doctors is a particularly acute problem for those female patients who seek to be seen by a biological woman. Ms Joyce said: “The implications of this are particularly severe with female patients, who may have requested a female doctor and have not consented to be examined by a man.” “Patients do have the right to say they only want to see a doctor of one sex or the other,” says Ms Joyce. “You can’t present a woman ‘on paper’ and expect patients to sort this out at the rough end of the process in the consultation room. What is a woman in that situation supposed to do when confronted with that? Are they supposed to say, ‘I’m sorry but are you a man?’ Nobody should be put in that position.” A GMC spokeswoman said people “may have particular reasons for wanting to see a doctor of the same sex,” but says that the “primary purpose of the Medical Register is to confirm that doctors have the appropriate training, skills and experience.” Article Name:Trans doctors given clean records Publication:The Daily Telegraph Author:By Laura Donnelly and George Chesterton Start Page:1 End Page:1

Saturday Total: 3

The Guardian [0]

The Times [0]

Daily Mail [0]

Telegraph [3]

NHS hospitals unable to see trans doctors’ case records The Daily Telegraph - Saturday22 Feb 2025By Laura Donnelly HEALTH EDITOR NHS hospitals hiring transgender doctors are unable to see their disciplinary records, senior medics have warned. The General Medical Council has been urged to overhaul its procedures after The Telegraph revealed that it erases the public disciplinary history of doctors who change their gender identity. The regulator has admitted to more than 60 such cases, which include Dr Beth Upton, a trans doctor now at the centre of a legal case in Scotland. It has emerged that this situation means NHS hospitals recruiting doctors are in the dark about whether medics have changed their gender identity and their previous disciplinary history. A source close to Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, said the situation was “crazy” and creating far too much risk for patients. He said: “Hospitals have to make hiring decisions in full view of medics’ disciplinary records. It’s crazy that they’re being hidden from employers and clearly needs to change. People should be treated with respect whatever their gender identity, but wiping disciplinary records has nothing to do with that.” Mr Streeting has already urged the GMC to overhaul its policies urgently. Normally, when a doctor is selected for an interview, HR departments must check the GMC record. This would include examining any warning notices on the record – such as a history of inappropriate relationships, or a history of alcoholism or drug abuse. However, if a doctor changes their gender status they are issued with a new registration and fresh GMC number, with all such links to the past erased. “This is a gross failure by GMC which could result in ‘at risk’ doctors being unknowingly appointed, risking patient safety and the trust’s reputation,” said Dr Caldwell, now retired, who called for the resignation of Charles Massey, the GMC’s chief executive, over the matter. Hospitals hiring doctors are expected to receive references from previous employers, which could alert them to recent disciplinary matters, but would be less likely to elicit information on older misdemeanours. ‘This is a gross failure by GMC which could result in “at risk” doctors being unknowingly appointed’ Article Name:NHS hospitals unable to see trans doctors’ case records Publication:The Daily Telegraph - Saturday Author:By Laura Donnelly HEALTH EDITOR Start Page:1 End Page:1

Way of the World Michael Deacon The Daily Telegraph - Saturday22 Feb 2025At telegraph.co.uk/ opinion The Telegraph How could anyone be so blind? If, as has found, the General Medical Council issues doctors who change gender with new registrations, thus severing links to their existing records, there’s an obvious problem. Any doctor who has in some way disgraced himself can just say his pronouns are now “she/ her”, and hey presto. All evidence of past wrongdoing is effectively gone. Down in hell, Harold Shipman must be kicking himself. If only he’d thought to change his name to Harriet… At any rate, I suppose we can just about discern the aim of this recklessly naive policy. Say, for example, Dr John Smith henceforth wishes to be known as Dr Joan Smith. The GMC is trying to avoid upsetting him (or rather her), by removing the evidence that Dr Joan Smith used to be Dr John Smith. The two are to be treated as if they’re completely different people. Surely, though, we can all spot the glaring flaw in this logic. Which is that it wasn’t Joan Smith who qualified as a doctor. It was John Smith. So, if Joan Smith is not responsible for anything that John Smith did, then that must include the medical degree John Smith obtained. Which means that, if Joan Smith wishes to practise as a doctor, she must immediately enrol at university to study medicine, from scratch. Except, of course, she can’t. Because, to get into university, you need some A-levels – which Joan Smith doesn’t have. So she’ll need to get some of those. But she can’t do that. Not until she’s passed her GCSEs. Once upon a time, the nation would have been shocked to read that a Tory MP had to be rescued by the chief whip at 4am after getting trapped in a brothel with 12 naked women. But not any more. We’ve all become so inured to stories about politicians’ tawdry sex scandals that these days we barely raise an eyebrow. In the jaded 2020s, “MP in Coke-Fuelled Dwarf Orgy” is scarcely a more exciting headline than “Man Mows Lawn”.

Sunday Total: 2

The Observer [0]

The Sunday Times [1]

A get-out-of-jail card made for violent men There’s a reason unstable narcissists choose to change gender behind bars Kathleen Stock What makes you the same person as 20 years ago? Philosophers have offered different answers. Some think maybe if you had a brain transplant, or a different set of memories, you’d be a different person. The General Medical Council (GMC), we found out this week, has another answer. When a doctor announces to colleagues that he wishes henceforth to be known as the opposite sex, it seems he is offered a new GMC number to go with the new name and pronouns, wiping out his past. Wes Streeting has raised concerns that this could be hiding the adverse findings of any previous disciplinaries from the public, supposed to be traceable via the same number. The health secretary’s point about safeguarding is so blindingly obvious you’d think it might have been raised when number switching was first mooted among GMC bigwigs — except, of course, that we are talking about an ineffable but highly potent substance, gender identity, known to paralyse even highfunctioning minds upon first contact. The same magical stuff led managers at NHS Fife to accede to the requests of a male doctor to use the women’s staff changing room, thereby exposing themselves to a highly embarrassing tribunal from a nurse, Sandie Peggie, that went part-heard last week. And it has also led NHS England managers to embrace the genius idea of issuing a new NHS number to anyone who “changes gender”, meaning any man who phones up his GP and says he is now a woman, and vice versa. The need to transfer old information into a new record creates, at best, a lot of pointless hassle for a cash-strapped service, and, at worst, disastrous errors, as crucial medical information pertinent to biological sex fails to be switched over. A belief in miraculous transformations also continues to bewitch the brains of some at the BBC hell-bent on using the preferred “she/her” pronouns of violent males no matter how lurid or criminal their back story. Last week on the corporation’s news website, the newly arrested leader of an allegedly murderous “vegan cult” in the US, Jack LaSota, was referred to as “she” throughout, despite the fact he is listed as male in the local sheriff’s database. Meanwhile, the school drama Waterloo Road recently featured a hospital scene with a grandmother with dementia and at death’s door, while her transidentified grandchild sat beside her getting upset at being “deadnamed” by the confused woman. Viewer sympathies were clearly anticipated to be with the misgendered teenager rather than the dying pensioner. It has long been obvious that a declaration of a sex-mismatched gender identity will make trusting souls act as if a whole new person has suddenly been born — even better for public rehabilitation than being ritually humiliated in a jungle. Under normal circumstances it would be quite unusual for a woman who was also a former Ukip candidate, had admitted to strangling her wife and said publicly that Camden had “too many gays” to get onto Woman’s Hour or Celebrity MasterChef, but exceptions were happily made for the boxing promoter turned LGBT ambassador Kellie Maloney after transition. And if you ever find yourself killing your partner, then trying to rape a shop assistant only days after prison release, you could always draw upon the inspirational example of Karen Jones, who did the same: say you’re a woman now, rebrand your crimes as a “cry for help” and after prison become a motivational speaker. In Jones’s case, the outcome was an invitation to address the House of Lords in 2018. "Say you’re a woman, rebrand your crimes as a ‘cry for help’ We are not as naive as we once were, and the taste for Hollywood-style redemption arcs about finding your inner womanhood somewhere between arrest and the prison cell is dissipating. The public doesn’t seem as misty-eyed as back when a man putting on a dress was generally treated as a kind of secular canonisation. Awareness has been helped by greater statistical clarity about reality: for instance, that, according to recent figures, 70 per cent of trans-identified prisoners are incarcerated for sexual assault or violent crime, compared with about 19 per cent of the male prison population generally. Still, there remains a general reluctance in polite society to spell out a point that grows more obvious with every news story about a “woman” arrested for paedophilia, voyeurism or sex attacks. So I’ll say it. We need to responsibly face the fact that certain men are attracted to identifying as women because they are already psychologically unstable; and the stories about how any subsequent predatory behaviour or aggression comes only from “societal transphobia” or “repressing who I really was” is a load of, well, balls. There are many different reasons for people to transition, and it serves nobody to treat all cases as alike. “Some men” does not mean “all men”, obviously. But it is not random that certain narcissistic men with borderline personality disorder start announcing they are female, for the two things can be manifestations of the same set of underlying psychological issues. And this fact has obvious consequences, not just for changing room allocation but also for being able to keep track of professionals who work with vulnerable people, however many changes in identity they profess to have. Let’s all stop pretending we have had a collective brain transplant and forgotten very basic safeguarding rules that, deep down, we really know. Kathleen Stock is a contributing editor at UnHerd Hadley Freeman is away

Mail on Sunday [0]

Sunday Telegraph [1]

Trans doctors’ past sanctions made public Disciplinary record of medics that change their gender will now remain on record, says GMC The Sunday Telegraph23 Feb 2025By Laura Donnelly HEALTH EDITOR THE disciplinary record of doctors who change their gender identity will be available to the public, the regulator has said. The General Medical Council (GMC) has issued an updated statement following an intervention from the Health Secretary. The decision comes amid public outrage after the regulator said that historical sanctions on doctors who changed their gender identity would not be available on the public-facing records relating to their new identity. The GMC had said the records of doctors pre and post-transition were still linked internally, but that the links could not be seen by the public. On Thursday night, Wes Streeting said the situation was “extremely concerning and should not have been allowed to happen”. He said he would demand the regulator provide transparency for patients, while respecting protections in the Equality Act. The GMC has now said that if a doctor changed their gender identify, information about previous sanctions would remain on the public record. The regulator said any redactions would be “confined to information like pronouns and name prior to transition”. Previously it said: “If a doctor had received a historical sanction [ie the suspension is no longer in place] prior to transitioning, this information would not be available on their new public-facing record on the medical register.” On Friday night, the GMC said it had not faced such a situation, adding: “In such a scenario we would need to consider carefully how best to present such information, balancing a number of factors and being mindful of the Gender Recognition Act.” Yesterday the regulator said such redactions would be confined to information like pronouns and name prior to transition. Senior medics had raised fears that NHS hospitals hiring transgender doctors would be unable to see their disciplinary records. When a doctor is selected for an interview, HR departments must check the GMC record. This would include examining any warning notices on the record – such as a history of inappropriate relationships, a history of alcoholism or drug abuse. Hospitals hiring doctors are expected to get references from previous employers, which could alert them to recent disciplinary matters, but would be less likely to elicit information on more historical misdemeanours. The GMC’s position came to light after a retired anaesthetist contacted The Telegraph, raising concerns that Dr Upton had been given a new registration number. Dr Upton is at the centre of an employment tribunal against NHS Fife. Nurse Sandie Peggie has said she was subjected to unlawful harassment by being made to share a changing room at Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, with Dr Upton, a transgender doctor who was using the female changing rooms. The GMC has confirmed that Dr Upton is one of 62 doctors to have been given new registration numbers under different GMC numbers. There is no suggestion that Dr Upton has faced any disciplinary action. Article Name:Trans doctors’ past sanctions made public Publication:The Sunday Telegraph Author:By Laura Donnelly HEALTH EDITOR Start Page:8 End Page:8

TRANSWRITES YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

Judge Tinnion should be ashamed of allowing tribunal to become a circus of harassment, by Gemma Stone
Calls for boycott as Oxford Literary Festival continually promotes bigotry, by Gemma Stone
My doctor emailed me back, by Abigail Thorn
The Rainbow Laces campaign isn't enough, by Arthur Webber
How Erika Hilton - a Black travesti trans woman - is changing Brasil, by Lis Welch
When was the T added to LGBT? A quick history, by Sarah Clarke
Trans people are the greatest assault on women in JK Rowling’s life time, apparently, by Gemma Stone
NHS & puberty blockers: Former GIDS patients reflect on long wait times, invasive assessments, by Sasha Baker.

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The Trans Agenda by Lee Hurley

The Trans Agenda: Scottish Labour turn on trans people as papers target trans doctors

News you need, the perspective you won't find anywhere else. The trans community's guide to UK news, media and politics and our place in it.

UK & IRELAND NEWS

AROUND THE WORLD

MEDIA

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

THE WEEK AHEAD

SHORTS

THE PAPERS

THE PAPERS Monday 17 February- Sunday 23 February

Monday Total: 2

The Guardian [0]

The Times [0]

Daily Mail [1]

Telegraph [1]

Tuesday Total: 1

The Guardian [0]

The Times [0]

Daily Mail [0]

Telegraph [1]

Wednesday Total: 3

The Guardian [0]

The Times [0]

Daily Mail [0]

Telegraph [3]

Thursday Total: 5

The Guardian [0]

The Times [2]

Daily Mail [1]

Telegraph [2]

Friday Total: 5

The Guardian [0]

The Times [2]

Daily Mail [2]

Telegraph [1]

Saturday Total: 3

The Guardian [0]

The Times [0]

Daily Mail [0]

Telegraph [3]

Sunday Total: 2

The Observer [0]

The Sunday Times [1]

Mail on Sunday [0]

Sunday Telegraph [1]

TRANSWRITES YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

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