Allison Bailey v Stonewall - Employment Tribunal hearing Thread 14

[ickky]

The Tribunal started on 25th April at 10am. If you would like to view online you need to send a request for access as early as possible.

Send an email to

[email protected]

The subject heading of the email request should read

“MEDIA OR PUBLIC ACCESS REQUEST – Case number 2202172/2020 - Ms A Bailey – 25th April 2022.

Then ask for the pin for the online access.

You will be contacted with instructions on how to observe the hearing.

When joining the live tribunal please choose a non inflammatory/offensive name, everyone can see it in the chat - This is a court room, please behave accordingly.

The court chat function is there for official court purposes, not for observers, please don't use it unless you have a technical issue.

On the first page underneath where you put your screen name, select the video and mic that are not crossed out (top option), this is the courts vid and mic.
On the next page select NONE on the drop down windows for vid and mic, these are your own video and mic.

You must be muted so as to not disturb the hearing.

There is also live tweeting from

twitter.com/tribunaltweets

Abbreviations:

AB: Allison Bailey, claimant
BC: Ben Cooper QC, barrister for AB
SW = Stonewall Equality Limited (respondent 1)
IO = Ijeoma Omambala QC, senior counsel - barrister for SW
RW = Robin White junior counsel to SW - assisting IO
GC = Garden Court Chambers Limited (respondent 2) (GCC would be a better abbreviation)
AH = Andrew Hochhauser QC, senior counsel - barrister for GC
JR = Jane Russell junior counsel to GC - assisting AH
RM= Rajiv Menon QC & SH = Stephanie Harrison QC (jointly respondent 3 along with all members of GC except AB)
EJ = Employment Judge Goodman hearing the case
Panel = any one of the three panel members (EJ and two lay members)

Thread 1 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4529887-Allison-Bailey-v-Stonewall-Employment-Tribunal-hearing?

Thread 2 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4542466-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-2

Thread 3 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4545725-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-3

Thread 4 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4546945-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-4

Thread 5 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4548160-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-5

Thread 6 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4550451-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-6

Thread 7 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4551757-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-7

Thread 8 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4552521-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-8

Thread 9 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4553181-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-9

Thread 10 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4553754-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-10

Thread 11 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4555145-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-11

Thread 12 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4555687-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-12

Thread 13 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4556235-allison-bailey-v-stonewall-employment-tribunal-hearing-thread-13

Allison Bailey - claimant (4-9, 11-13 May)

Witnesses for the claimant:

Dr Nicola Williams - Fair Play for Women (29 April)
Dr Judith Green - A Woman's Place (29 April)
Kate Barker - LGB Alliance (3 May)
Lisa-Marie Taylor - FiLiA (4 May)

Witnesses for the respondents:

Stephen Lue - barrister for GCC (3-4 May)
Zainab Al-Farabi - ex Stonewall (10 May)
Kirrin Medcalf - head of trans inclusion Stonewall (10 May)
Leslie Thomas - barrister at GCC (13 May)
Sanjay Sood Smith - Stonewall (16 May)
Shaan Knan - LGBT consortium - on STAG (16 May)
Rajiv Menon - joint head of chambers (16-17 May)
Maya Sikand - barrister at GCC (17-18 May)
Mia Hakl-Law - HR senior for GCC (18 May)
Judy Khan - barrister at GCC (19-20 May)
Charlie Tennent - clerk at GCC (20 May)
Luke Harvey - clerk at GCC (20 May)
Louise Hooper - Barrister at GCC (20 May)
Marc Willers - Barrister at GCC (23 May)
Stephen Clark - Barrister at GCC (23 May)
Liz Davies - Barrister at GCC (23 May)
Katherine McGahy - Bar Council Ethics Committee's VC (24 May)
Tom Wainwright - Barrister at GCC (24 May)
Colin Cook - clerk at GCC (24 May
David Renton - barrister at GCC (20 May, to concluded on 25th May)
David de Menezes - GCC, Head of Marketing
Kathryn Cronin - barrister at GCC

To come:

Michelle Brewer - barrister at GCC at time, now left and a judge.
Stephanie Harrison - joint head of chambers

BC asks something about transphobia in the email but I didn't follow.

MB says she wasn't talking about transphobia and if she wanted to say someone's tweets were transphobic she would just have said so.

MB reads out loud that the tweets from a member of chambers compromise the idea that Chambers is a safe space. She claims she was talking about access to justice here. But not transphobia.

BC says that's because AB was expressing views that might offend some trans people.

MB says the Morgan Page tweet would have done more than offend.

BC says MB identifies three tweets including criticisms AB made of Professor Stephen Whittle.

EJ is a bit lost.

MB: "The Morgan Page tweet would do more than offend, Mr Cooper"

How? I dont find it offensive. I find the 'overcoming the cotton ceiling' workshop offensive.

BC must have nerves have steel. I am terrified for him that he will run out of time.

she's compromising our message

people would have been "more than offended" by the morgan page tweet.

I’m in a bloody B&Q car park wrangling fence panels. Thank you for what looks like a very important thread to catch up with later.

How? I dont find it offensive. I find the 'overcoming the cotton ceiling' workshop offensive.

Me too.

MB is flagging now.

Stephanie Harrison QC is watching. I'm confused, isn't she up after MB?

That "s" at the end of "lawyers" is doia lot of heavy lifting for MB!

Yes she is

All of this comes across as MB putting in the work to make sure GCC is aligned with the "right side" of the sex vs gender debate. With Stonewall. It's not absolute, but it's the natural conclusion to draw.

BC is now looking at AB's 2019 tweets and MB's reaction. Actual criticism AB makes is about Stephen Whittle scoffing at men accessing women's changing rooms and calling women who object fanatics.

BC says it was robust but entirely legit criticism.

MB says this would have been protected under article 10 and doesn't think it breaches the code. Is it legit? She is entitled to do it but MB's concern - that she was signposting to HoC - was that AB was calling self-id supporting lawyers delusional. MB thought it was about Stephen Clark at GCC (one of junior tenants).

BC says members of chambers are allowed to criticise each other.

MB says it was freedom of expression but AB was much more senior than SC and barristers shouldn't undermine their junior colleagues and that's a problem.

the big bad agressive allison defence

"We've a responsibility as barristers not to undermine our junior colleagues" - just spat my drink at the hypocrisy of that one.

"No idea about Twitter" DRINK

I have no idea about twitter

/here we go again

"I have NO IDEA about twitter"

She has no ide about Twitter dontcha know. Maybe DDM could help her out.

No idea about Twitter - another one.

"Well, Mr Cooper!"

Not ok for AB to undermine more junior lawyer (if she even did) but fine for more senior people like her to undermine AB?

Me too. It's a horribly offensive title for an utterly reprehensible concept. But I'm still not mortally wounded, only offended.

If she says Mr Cooper one more time, I'm going to scream.

😂😂

"Well. Mr Cooper." [in the most condescending, irritating voice 😖]

BC says AB didn't mention Stephen Clark.

MB says she doesn't understand Twitter (BINGO!) and then says something I don't understand.

MB says AB mentions lawyers, and one of the speakers was Stephen Clark.

BC says MB says she was raising these concerns because she thought AB's tweets made Chambers less safe for transpeople, but they didn't.

MB says she was asking for guidance and signposting to HoC potential for... Goes back to the transwoman who sent the screenshot for her and says she felt AB was diminishing the threat of violence to trans people.