Maria Miller on Twitter

Thank goodness for that - because this is where it all started. This is the root cause of the damage to the legal status of the female sex. These are the civil servants who have an agenda, favour the trans lobby and brief Ministers (poorly and with bias). it's about time they were made accountable and came out from behind Ministers' skirts.

YY Pam. It doesn't matter which trail of crumbs you follow, it's obvious that civil servants (and a certain informal network for civil servants) have been all over this from the start.

I don't think professional civil servants would be a problem. They are policy-neutral to a fault.

I would keep an eye on the Spads, the Special Advisors, political appointments with lobbying backgrounds. They are a cancer in our body politic.

Who are the civil servants theOtherPamAyres?

I am disappointed to think that someone has the right to refuse work to me and others like me in my sector just because they think that I might not be a woman

How tone deaf is this? The only roles that men are excluded from are those to protect the safety and dignity of women and girls.

Why would anyone use those roles as a validation exercise?

And why wouldn't the government make it clear that these roles are not to be used to validate anyone?

Conservative Party HQ has reviewed possible election issues in case of a snap general election

It's not just a backlash against MM: Penny Mordaunt's civil servants are getting challenged at every turn, on Twitter.

They announce that they are sending delegates to the UN Conference on Women - and get asked whether they can be trusted to know what a woman is.

This morning they announce a lesbian, bi and Transwomen health action plan - and get roasted for missing out the women suffering health issues because of their transition to men.

They are doubling down with their LGBT 'inclusivity' at every turn - but this month, they started to attract the wrath of Twitter GC women and allies.

Thank goodness for that - because this is where it all started. This is the root cause of the damage to the legal status of the female sex. These are the civil servants who have an agenda, favour the trans lobby and brief Ministers (poorly and with bias). it's about time they were made accountable and came out from behind Ministers' skirts.

Conservative Party HQ has reviewed possible election issues in case of a snap general election.

This one took them (at least the men) by surprise. They thought Maria and Penny had it covered. Maria is quickly shifting the blame.

(Though I note a high proportion of retweets are from trans people. As if to get reassurance she was right all along.)

Labour has other things to clean up. Their immediate issue is anti-semitism, with Tom Watson manoeuvring.

I am disappointed to think that someone has the right to refuse work to me and others like me in my sector just because they think that I might not be a woman

That, is such a familiar noise from men....
Someone is not holding the right beliefs at the heart of key working in the vawg sector.
They surely must believe that women are not really scared of men. So, we're back to women not being believed. A campaign run by MN, just saying, for a friend....

Didn't they promise feedback on the GRA consultation in the spring?

I bet it is drafts of that prompting this sudden outburst of repositioning.

Maybe they are kicking self ID into touch and burying with Brexit? Wishful thinking I know!

What is going on though?

Separate prison wings for male transpeople, lots of publicity for women's sport, I'm I imagining that there is a review of single sex wards in the nhs?

It's finally dawning on the government that people do notice sex.

Miller must be getting the knife in first so that Mourdant will have to point elsewhere to assign blame for giving her duff info about men being women. They will will be scouring the House of Commons to find a Tory that will say they ever believed it.

It will all be down to Layla Moran to stick up for looking in to the eyes 👀

Good point Popchyk

Make me wonder what Penny will eventually come back with. If any of them do indeed have any political nouse then I suspect they can see a Special Inquiry on the horizon. Too much stuff is blowing up left, right and centre for that not to be the eventual outcome.

As another poster said this is the very beginnings of the back peddling and blame shifting. Miller in my opinion is trying to get out ahead of it.

I can't believe she retweeted Guiliana. What sort of advice do they get - can't see Sir Humphrey advising that, or Malcolm.

Why now? Tory leadership election?

Really? Makes one wonder why they are desperate to get in the foxes spaces then!

What is going on though?

Maria Miller has said next to nothing about this for 2 years.

And now she's dashed off a dozen tweets in rapid succession.

Summat is up, that's for sure.

I've long thought the entire strategy for VAWG provision turns entirely on the hurt feelings of Mridul Wadhwa captured above in 130.

Everything has to be subordinated to this one person's validation.

Christ. One of the TRAs has tried to use the fox/henhouse analogy with women as the foxes and TW as hens. Ha ha ha. So much delusion.

Sorry mate but that analogy only works one way and it doesn't favour you.

She's really showcasing just how slippery she is. Please continue MM.
'It wasn't me' isn't fooling anyone.

This to me is the most eye-catching response:

I have no issue with people challenging cross party @Commonswomequ Report-unfortunately sometimes this becomes personal attack-but Select Committee scrutiny of Govt should not be confused with Governments inadequate response which focussed on GRA not stopping discrimination

She really wants to make sure someone else ends up holding this particularly ill-favoured baby.

There were only two women's groups who submitted written evidence. And no women's groups were invited to appear before the committee, unlike the trans groups which were invited to appear.

Both Rape Crisis and Women's Aid rely on government funding, which I think is a crucial point.

Look at the way the final report is framed.

Report

The only evidence referred to in the report was by Women's Aid, and the transgender groups were given much leeway to respond to WA's submission, using very emotive language.

127. The Explanatory Notes to the Act give the following illustration: A counsellor working with victims of rape might have to be a woman and not a transsexual person, even if she has a Gender Recognition Certificate, in order to avoid causing them further distress.

Women’s Aid told us that: In recognition of Women’s Aid’s status as the provider of services to, and promoting the welfare of women only, Women’s Aid has chosen to exercise its right under the Equality Act 2010 […] to apply the Gender Reassignment exception to employment posts within the organisation. This policy is under review.

128. We heard unequivocal opposition to this provision. The Scottish Transgender Alliance told us that they wished to see it repealed: as well as violating trans people’s article 8 human right to privacy [under the ECHR] about their gender reassignment history, [it] is generally unworkable because the only way anyone could prove beyond doubt that they had not undergone gender reassignment would be to submit to an unacceptably intrusive medical examination.

129. The Alliance also advocated the introduction of a legal provision allowing for certain posts, “perhaps where providing support specifically to trans people”, to be available only to trans people, “as exists for other protected characteristics”.

130. Mridul Wadhwa told us that the provision was: discriminatory to transsexual people especially trans women. I genuinely believe that there is no space for it in the gender-based violence sector and that it has no place in violence against women work. I was unaware of its existence until a few weeks ago. I have worked in the violence against women sector since 2005 and have never known for it to be used. I am disappointed to think that someone has the right to refuse work to me and others like me in my sector just because they think that I might not be a woman.

Wow, she is getting ROASTED!

Could that odd noise be the sound of the penny finally dropping....

I wonder how Penny will respond. Will she get back to us with some answers?

Ooh Miller has said to ask Penny Morduant whether plans for GRA have been shelved as it's not her remit