A group of Darlington nurses who sued their NHS trust after a transgender colleague was allowed to use their changing rooms have been declared victims of harassment and sex discrimination.
The women (above in photo, credit Christian Concern) took legal action after nurse Rose Henderson – who was born male but identifies as a woman – used the female changing rooms. An Employment Tribunal concluded that the nurses should not have been expected to change in front of a member of the opposite sex. Moreover, the Tribunal’s ruling indicated that the County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust’s policy of allowing biological men into women only spaces is illegal. A Supreme Court ruling last April found the terms ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act refer only to biological females.
The seven nurses were backed by the Christian Legal Centre – a fact rarely acknowledged in the mainstream media reports, yet without the Centre’s help the case might not have succeeded. One of the nurses, Karen Danson, told the hearing that Henderson’s presence in the room triggered a flashback to her sexual abuse as a child. She said the Tribunal decision “is a victory for common sense and for every woman who simply wants to feel safe at work… Today’s ruling sends a clear message: the NHS cannot ignore women’s rights in the name of ideology.”
“The NHS should abide by the law which acknowledges that men are men and women are women”
The Trust had told the nurses that if they had an issue with getting changed in front of a man who identifies as a woman, they should find alternative changing facilities. The Tribunal did not believe HR manager Ms Atkinson when she denied telling the nurses that they needed to be ‘educated’ and should ‘broaden their mindset’, ‘compromise’ and be ‘inclusive.’ Andrea Williams, Chief Executive of the Christian Legal Centre, commented: “This judgement exposes the extent to which the NHS hierarchy has been captured by extreme gender ideology and its willingness to sacrifice women’s safety and dignity in order to uphold it.
“The NHS and the Government should now give up their sabotage of clear judicial decisions and abide by the law which acknowledges that men are men and women are women.” Equalities Minister Bridget Phillipson has repeatedly postponed publishing guidance on single-sex spaces by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission.
Victory for nurse who ‘misgendered’ transgender paedophile. A nurse who faced the sack for calling a biologically male transgender prisoner ‘Mr’ and going public about it has been reinstated.
Jennifer Melle was handed a written warning from the Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust after the incident at St Helier Hospital in Carshalton, Surrey in May 2024, even though the convicted paedophile’s medical records referred to the prisoner as male. Melle, an evangelical Christian, says she was racially abused after using the ‘wrong’ pronoun. After Melle spoke to the media about her experience in March 2025, she was suspended for potentially breaching patient confidentiality.
But on 20 January a private disciplinary meeting with the Trust ended with Melle being given her job back and she will face no further action. She was represented by the Christian Legal Centre, while the Shadow Equalities Minister, Claire Coutinho MP, had launched a petition to reinstate Melle.
After the decision, Ms Melle said: “This has been an incredibly long and painful journey, and today I want to give thanks, first and foremost, to Jesus, who has sustained me every step of the way… No more nurses should ever have to endure what the Darlington nurses went through, what Sandie Peggie went through, or what I have gone through.” She added: “We call on the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, to immediately implement lawful policy in line with the Supreme Court ruling that upholds biological reality that men are men and women are women.” Melle is still taking the Trust to an employment tribunal over claims of harassment, direct discrimination and indirect discrimination because of her gender critical beliefs. (Photo – Nurse Jennifer Melle – Credit Christian Concern)
Sources: GB News, 21 Jan; Christian Concern Facebook post, 20 Jan 262w
She was racially abused after using the ‘wrong’ pronoun