London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Gay rights group was set up ‘to promote transphobic activity’, court told

Gay rights group was set up ‘to promote transphobic activity’, court told

Claim comes in appeal by trans rights charity against decision to give LGB Alliance charitable status
The gay rights organisation LGB Alliance was set up to “promote transphobic activity rather than pro-LGB activities”, the head of Consortium, an umbrella group of LGBT organisations told a court on Monday.

In the first full day of hearings in the appeal by the transgender rights charity Mermaids against the Charity Commission’s decision to award charitable status to LGB Alliance, Paul Roberts, the chief executive of Consortium, said that LGB Alliance was created to pursue an anti-trans agenda.

In cross-examination, Akua Reindorf QC, for LGB Alliance, repeatedly questioned whether the label transphobic was merited in this case, arguing there were areas where the rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual people might not be aligned with the rights of trans people, justifying the creation of a separate charitable organisation.

The day’s hearing at the General Regulatory Chamber explored the line between transphobia and campaigning for the separate rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual people.

Questions focused on several contested areas of LGBTQ+ rights. At the start of the hearing there was a discussion of the changing definition of sexual orientation. The definition given by the country’s largest LGBTQ+ organisation, Stonewall, has shifted in the past decade from “same-sex attracted” to “same-gender attracted”; LGB Alliance says it was founded to stand up for the rights of same-sex attracted people.

Reindorf asked Roberts: “Do you think it is transphobic to say a person with a female body cannot be a gay man.” Roberts replied: “Yes.”

Reindorf asked if being attracted to people of the same gender was “a qualitatively different thing” to being attracted to people of the same sex. “I don’t believe we live in such a clearcut, binary way,” Roberts replied.

Reindorf also highlighted concerns raised by LGB Alliance that some children who have been referred to gender identity services might otherwise have gone on to be gay, but were offered puberty blockers as treatment for gender dysphoria.

She cited media interviews with Tavistock gender clinic staff warning that possible same-sex attraction was being ignored and noted that some clinicians had said sending children who may be gay down the pathway to change gender felt like “conversion therapy”.

Roberts said there were “elements of transphobia” in that position.

Roberts was asked about questions raised in the Hilary Cass review of gender identity services for children and young people over the 4,400% rise in the number of young girls, a disproportionately high percentage of whom were same-sex attracted, being referred to the service.

“There seems to be an extraordinary sudden rise in same-sex attracted girls identifying as male and seeking a medical pathway. If this is happening, then is it not properly a matter of great concern to an organisation which promotes LGBT rights?” Reindorf asked. Roberts said he was not an expert in this area, but added that in his daily work he saw “many young trans people and many trans adults living healthy lives, and this would not reflect their experiences”.

Roberts was also asked to address the question of whether lesbians should be refused membership of lesbian dating sites if they stated they would refuse to date trans women and to state whether he agreed with comments made by Nancy Kelley, the chief executive of Stonewall, that not wanting to date trans people was “sexual racism”.

He said no one should be coerced to have sex with someone against their will.

In 2020 Consortium refused to admit LGB Alliance to its umbrella group of organisations, of which Mermaids is a member. In skeleton arguments released on Monday, Mermaids said it would argue that LGB Alliance was “not tackling problems facing lesbian, gay and bisexual people, but rather is seeking to prevent the resolution of problems facing transgender persons”.

In its skeleton arguments LGB Alliance said the appeal was ideologically motivated, arising from a “profound disagreement with LGB Alliance’s approach to the promotion and protection of LGB rights”.

It is understood to be the first time one charity has attempted to remove legal status from another. The hearing will continue until Friday.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
Jellyfish Swarm Triggers Shutdown at Gravelines Nuclear Power Station in Northern France
×