Mermaids vs LGB Alliance and Charity Commissioner - First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber) Thread 4

[nauticant]

UPDATE: a transcript of the proceedings has been published and can be found here: lgballiance.org.uk/tribunal-transcript/

The Tribunal started on 9 September, witness testimony was heard from 12 to 15 September, and then, following a break, closing submissions are taking place on 7 and 8 November.

[This paragraph is probaby now redundant] To obtain access to view the proceedings, send a request email to [email protected] about case CA/2021/0013 - Mermaids vs Charity Commissioner and LGB Alliance and ask for permission to join. You then have to provide certain information and agree to a judge's direction in order to be able to join.

There is also live tweeting from www.twitter.com/tribunaltweets

Abbreviations:

J or judge: Presiding Judge, Judge Lynn Griffin
AJ or Judge: Assisted by Judge Joe Neville
MG: Mermaids counsel is Michael Gibbon KC
KM: LGB Alliance counsel is Karon Monaghan KC
AR: Karon is assisted by Akua Reindorf
IS: Charity Commission counsel is Iain Steele

(Also the witnesses, PR: Paul Roberts, JN: John Nicolson. BB: Belinda Bell, BJ: Beverley Jackson, KH: Kate Harris, and EG: Eileen Gallagher.)

Thread 1: www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4629679-mermaids-versus-lgb-alliance-in-court-today
Thread 2: www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4632780-mermaids-vs-lgb-alliance-and-charity-commissioner-first-tier-tribunal-general-regulatory-chameber-thread-2
Thread 3: www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4633653-mermaids-vs-lgb-alliance-and-charity-commissioner-first-tier-tribunal-general-regulatory-chamber-thread-3?page=31&reply=121335177
Thread 4: ongoing

Witnesses for the applicant (Mermaids):

Paul Roberts - CEO of LGBT Consortium (12 September)
John Nicolson MP - Deputy Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global LGBT+ Rights (13 September)
Dr Belinda Bell - Chair of trustees of Mermaids (13 September)

Witnesses for the respondent (LGB Alliance):

Beverley Jackson - Co-founder and trustee of LGB Alliance (13-14 September)
Kate Harris - Co-founder and trustee of LGB Alliance (14-15 September)
Eileen Gallagher OBE - Chair of trustees of LGB Alliance (15 September)

Witness Statements:

Paul Roberts: www.lgballiance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Paul-Roberts-Witness-Statement-Exhibits.pdf
John Nicolson MP - www.lgballiance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/John-Nicolson-Witness-Statement-Exhibits.pdf
Dr Belinda Bell: www.lgballiance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Belinda-Bell-Witness-Statement-Exhibits.pdf
Beverley Jackson: www.lgballiance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Bev-Jackson-Witness-Statement-Exhibits-1.pdf
Kate Harris: www.lgballiance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Kate-Harris-Witness-Statement-Exhibits.pdf
Eileen Gallagher (two statements): www.lgballiance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Eileen-Gallagher-Witness-Statement-Exhibits.pdf www.lgballiance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Eileen-Gallagher-Second-Witness-Statement-Exhibits.pdf

Submissions:

www.lgballiance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Volume-4-Submissions-CA.2021.0013.pdf

(Header format follows the gold standard established by @ickky)

post updated by MNHQ at OP's request in order to include the most up to date information.

Also special mention for the Telegraph which I am not a reader of but I love the way they are using a big, smug photo of Susie Green to illustrated the story that will remind everyone that even though she left was removed last week all the terrible things Mermaids did and encouraged was very much on her watch:

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/12/02/mermaids-transgender-charity-formal-investigation/

Better late than never.

I assume we will also see more of this type of argument

”Mermaids sues for you guys granting hate group charity status, you open investigation into mermaids

Bit fucking transparent”

I hope the eventual report has a general relevance for other LGBT charities (looking at you Stonewall) that have rushed into schools and other activities involving children and young people. Safeguarding MUST be taken seriously. Child protection is paramount.

Yup! The statutory inquiry was launched on Monday 28 November: www.gov.uk/government/news/regulator-announces-statutory-inquiry-into-mermaids

Yes, the Eye has been doing a great job of covering the Martyn Percy /Christ Church story. As well as £7.8m in legal costs and settlements the college lost £8m in donations and bequests; while it is impossible to prove the link it is hard to imagine that it is strongly related to the college's shenanigans.

D'oh! "hard to imagine that it ISN'T strongly related", of course.

www.csrwire.com/press_releases/761411-celebration-trans-awareness-week-mac-cosmetics-launch-inclusive-makeup-edit

That was near the top of the Twitter search! Dated yesterday. Someone in MAC should be getting sacked for that one.

Bad timing or what?!

Bloody hell, no wonder they are able to keep limping on if they continue to get donations like that!

LGB Alliance have published the transcript of the hearing here:
https://lgballiance.org.uk/tribunal-transcript/
It's being discussed in it's own thread, but I thought it'd be useful to have a link to it on this one. @nauticant is it worth asking to get the first post amended to add the link to it, or only adding it if we end up spilling over into Thread 5 once the verdict comes out?

...k, and we're done with Mac....

I will not be handing money to anyone that is going to use it to fund safeguarding disasters for children.

I'll see about doing that @dunBle if I don't forget.

I'm sure MAC have supported Mermaids before, I know I had added them to my shitlist a while ago. Spectacular own-goal.

It’s been a while is there any update on when we might hear the outcome of this case? Might they be waiting for the outcome of the Charity Commission investigation?

Oh, I got all excited and anxious.

It has been ages.

Oh, I got all excited and anxious.

Yup, me too.

Sorry for the premature excitement.

You've just done it again

Looks like it might be time to crank up these threads again:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4787558-judgement-in-mermaids-v-charity-commission-tribunal-expected-in-days

Ooh. Thanks for the heads up. Time to stock up on 🍿 popcorn.
Though I fear there may be a shortage. Those keeping a close eye on the SNP have cleared the shelves. I assume there isn't time for @ArabellaScott 's popcorn farm to deliver a bumper harvest?

Tweet by Julie burchill says:
"Decision in the Mermaids v LGB Alliance case to be handed down on 6th July at 10am."
🙏🤞

🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

GLP have said they will try to appeal?

for fuck’s sake. Is there any chance they’ll both lose and be denied leave to appeal? It is difficult not to suspect their primary motive is to harass LGB Alliance via the courts and make sure all their resources are bound up in fighting lawsuits instead of working towards their charitable aims.

It was quite astonishing having to bear in mind as you listened to it that this was an action mermaids had chosen to bring against LGB Alliance. They treated every question as an attack

Surely whether or not to appeal is up to Mermaids, not GLP anyway?