Bristol Council forced to issue humiliating apology after banning gender critical campaigners

Both were excluded from full council meetings for six months following an incident in November 2025, when they raised questions about the authority’s transgender policies.

The pair, both members of the campaign group Women of Wessex, had been accused of intimidating councillors, allegations the council has now fully withdrawn.

Under the terms of the settlement, the council has also agreed to pay legal costs, rescind the bans, and revise its Trans Inclusion and Gender Identity Policy to explicitly recognise gender-critical beliefs as protected under the Equality Act 2010.

The dispute originated when Women of Wessex began regularly attending full council sessions to scrutinise Bristol’s policies on transgender rights.

During one meeting, Green Party councillors walked out of the chamber while the women were speaking; at a later session, councillors held up placards in protest.

An encounter outside the council chamber on 4 November 2025 triggered the bans.

The council alleged that Dr Beedell and Ms Stephenson had confronted two councillors in the reception area in a manner the councillors found intimidating.

Dr Beedell has given a different account, stating that she briefly approached a councillor who had walked out to ask about the Supreme Court ruling that “the concept of sex is binary,” and that the exchange lasted under a minute.

She maintained that Ms Stephenson was not present for that conversation.

In a public statement, the council acknowledged that its handling of the matter fell short of acceptable standards.

It conceded that a proper investigation should have taken place before any action was taken against the two women.

“Before those decisions were taken, a proportionate investigation should have been conducted, Dr Beedell and Ms Stephenson should have been informed of the substance of the allegations and provided with the evidence or a summary of the evidence relied upon, and they should have been given a meaningful opportunity to respond,” the council stated.

Bristol Council has committed to establishing a new procedure governing any future cases in which sanctions against members of the public are under consideration.

The settlement further stipulates that the lawful expression of gender-critical views cannot, in itself, be treated as misconduct, harassment, or grounds for exclusion.

Reacting to the victory, Dr Beedell said: “I am delighted that the allegations against us have been withdrawn. But the legacy of this case is wider than Wendy and me.

“Whatever their views, members of the public must be able to scrutinise policy, question elected representatives and disagree with the current dogma without fear that they will be vilified and shut out.

“Like everyone else, Councils and councillors everywhere must obey the law. They must let women speak,” she told Local Government Lawyer magazine.

Ms Stephenson hoped that the resolution would transform City Hall into “a place where difficult questions can be debated rather than closed down, and where councillors and members of the public can disagree without lawful dissent being treated as wrongdoing.”