Former Supreme Court judge Baroness Brenda Hale, who has previously claimed there is no such thing as biological sex, said she would have wanted to have delivered the For Women Scotland (FWS) judgment, GB News can exclusively disclose.
Speaking at an event at Durham University, the now-retired Baroness told attendees the FWS ruling on biological sex was the case she would most like to have sat on as a judge.
She previously indicated she disagrees with the judgment, saying the legal definition of a woman based on biological sex “has been misinterpreted”.
In the high-profile case, campaign group FWS challenged a Scottish Court ruling that transgender women should be considered legally female.
Baroness Hale spoke to students at Durham University
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DURHAM UNIVERSITT
In April last year, Supreme Court judges ruled in favour of For Women Scotland, finding unanimously the terms “sex”, “man”, and “woman” in the Equality Act 2010 refer strictly to biological sex.
The ruling was hailed as a triumph by gender critical campaigners who have long sought to protect single-sex facilities for women, arguing that trans women – born male – should not have the right to access female-only services.
Despite the finality of the Supreme Court’s ruling, the influential Lady Hale has not refrained from criticising the judgment.
Just 18 per cent of the British public believe the Supreme Court made the wrong judgment in the FWS case.
For Women Scotland said it was ‘puzzled’ by the Baroness’s comments
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GETTY
It will come as a blow to many that such a prominent and influential figure as Lady Hale has continued to seek to criticise the position now established in law.
Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy said judges are not to “behave like political activists”.
Speaking to GB News, he said: “The role of judges is to apply the law, not to behave like political activists. The Supreme Court was perfectly clear that when the Equality Act refers to sex, it means biological sex.”
“The law should reflect the biological reality that there are two genders, and that single sex spaces and activities should be protected, and the law on this is now settled. The Conservatives will always stand up for sex based rights and for common sense,” he added.
A spokeswoman for For Women Scotland said they were “puzzled” by Baroness Hale’s comments and questioned whether the retired judge believes “she could have done a better job”.
She told GB News: “We are puzzled why, of all the cases Baroness Hale has sat on over the years, what she thinks is so special about our case.
“In truth, the question determined by the Supreme Court was very clear, both in legal and scientific terms.
Baroness Hale was the first female President of the UK Supreme Court
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FOR WOMEN SCOTLAND
“We wonder if Baroness Hale felt she could have done a better job or if there was something she felt was missed? “
Baroness Hale was the first female President of the UK Supreme Court, shooting to public attention during the post-Brexit political fallout.
In 2017, Lady Hale and the other Supreme Court Justices ruled the Government could not trigger Article 50 of the Treaty of the European Union to leave the EU without a vote in parliament.
She convened a panel of Justices in 2019 who ruled that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s prorogation of parliament was “unlawful”.
In remarks at the Charleston literary festival in East Sussex last August the former Supreme Court judge questioned the meaning of “biological sex”.
She said: “I was with some doctors last week who said there is no such thing as biological sex,” adding her main concern was the “very binary reaction that there has been to” the judgment.
The FWS ruling was welcomed by campaigners across the country, who hoped the judgment would settle once and for all the question of whether biological males were legally allowed to use women’s toilets and changing facilities.
Despite the unanimity of the judges in the case, many public bodies have yet to change their policies to reflect the judgment and arguments continue to play out between political parties and other interest groups.
The Equalities and Human Rights Commission (ECHR) shared their advice earlier this month on how businesses and public bodies should protect female-only spaces following the ruling last year.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson approved the advice.
Incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham said last month the ruling should be “implemented” and arguments on the matter needed to “stop”.
He said: “Let’s implement the guidance, but to do it in the fairest and most compassionate way possible.”
“We’ve got to stop arguing with each other. We’ve got to start by finding some common ground and start pulling together,” he added.
GB News has reached out to Baroness Hale for comment.