Staff at a JD Wetherspoon pub have been accused of refusing to serve gender-critical campaigners who were at the watering hole celebrating their Supreme Court win.
For Women Scotland (FWS), which pushed for a ruling on the biological definition of a woman, saw its co-leaders visit an Edinburgh pub to mark April’s decision.
Susan Smith and Marion Calder said they were left shocked after staff allegedly refused to serve them, having recognised them from media coverage.
The pair said the situation was resolved only after they alerted a local journalist to what had happened.
They said the reporter contacted Wetherspoon’s communications chief, who immediately got in touch with the branch manager.
According to Ms Calder, staff then walked out.
She told The Sunday Times: “I phoned a local journalist and said, ‘You’ll never guess what’s happened here at Spoons.’”
Ms Calder added that they “got more drinks in” after the manager intervened.
Staff at the pub are said to have refused to serve the pair
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Sir Tim Martin, founder and chairman of the pub chain, told The Telegraph: “If you win a court case, especially a Supreme Court case, you would expect to be allowed to celebrate in a pub, so I’m glad they were able to do so — albeit after an initial hiccup.”
The ruling stated that the term “sex” in the Equality Act refers to biological sex rather than gender identity.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is now set to clarify its legal obligations regarding the protection of single-sex spaces.
Businesses and public bodies are awaiting this guidance before making changes to their own arrangements.
Tim Martin said he was relieved to hear the couple were able to enjoy a positive experience in one of his pubs after the initial ‘hiccup’
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The proposed guidance was submitted to Women and Equalities Secretary Bridget Phillipson three months ago, but she has yet to approve it.
Ms Phillipson has said the proposed rules are “trans-exclusive”.
Ms Smith has accused both the UK and Scottish governments of attempting to ensure the judgment is “thwarted”, adding: “Phillipson in particular is trying to fudge the law by sitting on the Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance, and it is having a serious impact on women.
“If Bridget Phillipson and Keir Starmer don’t like what the Supreme Court did, they have the power to change it. But they’re not going to do that, because they know it would be incredibly unpopular and stupid, and they’d lose support.
“So instead they’re playing silly buggers and trying to change the law by stealth.”