Two civil servants sued in trans row as Whitehall ‘culture wars’ continue
Two civil servants are being sued by a colleague who claimed their belief that transgender individuals cannot change their biological sex is discriminatory.
The lawsuit represents the latest clash in Whitehall’s ongoing “culture wars,” where civil servants who assert that sex is immutable claim they are being targeted in a “witch hunt” led by “bullies with a dangerous agenda.”
The case, set to be heard in court on Tuesday, will determine if the claimant can remain anonymous.
At the centre of the dispute is the Sex Equality and Equity Network, an independent body linked to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The colleague suing the two employees is seeking to have the network shut down and the members disciplined.
The unnamed civil servant has alleged that posts on the network’s internal message board are harmful to transgender individuals.
Andreas Mueller, the network’s co-chair, said he was accused of challenging a “post that compared gender-critical individuals to racists and homophobes,” as well as for “discussing the implications of safeguarding” after a post downplayed women’s concerns about single-sex bathrooms.
Mueller, who is being sued along with Elspeth Duemmer-Wrigley, also faced accusations for “liking” gender-critical content on social media.
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Lawyer Duemmer-Wrigley expressed confidence that the attempt to keep the claimant anonymous would not succeed.
The duo have agreed not to name the civil servant until a judge has made a ruling.
Maya Forstater, the chief executive of the charity Sex Matters, argues that “the harm would be felt not only right across the civil service but in workplaces all over the UK” if they lost the claim.
She told The Times that if the claimant managed to ban the network “it could close down the space for debate that was opened up by my win in the employment appeal tribunal”.
A Government spokesman said: “We are unable to comment on ongoing legal proceedings.”
It follows another woke row in Whitehall where £1.7million of taxpayers’ money was spent connecting civil servants with colleagues of the same race, religion or sexuality.
The Civil Service found hundreds of thousands of pounds have been spent each year on hundreds of diversity networks.
Many of the grounds act as forums for minority groups to discuss experiences of working in Whitehall.