Whistleblowers at EHRC say that Kishwer Falkner is the victim of a 'witch-hunt by trans lobby'

[IwantToRetire]

Relations are said to have soured after she backed legal reforms guarding the rights of biological women in single-sex spaces such as hospital wards and toilets.

The employees at the Equality and Human Rights Commission are said to have compiled a dossier, setting out more than 40 complaints aimed at Baroness Falkner by a dozen current and former colleagues. A source said: 'People within the organisation are deeply concerned that this is a witch-hunt.

'The timing is extremely questionable. There is no doubt in my mind that this is ideologically motivated and is a way to take a scalp in revenge. ...

Baroness Falkner is said to have been left 'heartbroken' by the allegations but those close to her said her 'conscience was clear'. They branded the move by EHRC staff a 'failed coup d'etat'.

Members of the commission's board, which is headed by Baroness Falkner, have called for an overhaul of the 2010 Equality Act, which refers to gender and sex interchangeably.

They argue it should be amended to explicitly define sex as 'biological sex' to bring legal clarity in areas including sport and ensure only 'biological women' can use single-sex spaces.

Staff from the executive team were said to having been pushing to allow for gender self-identification, allowing trans people to state their chosen gender without any medical diagnosis.

A second source said: 'The executive just refused to accept the board's decision. There were strenuous efforts to reject it and it was around this time allegations were starting to be made.

'There is a very progressive, activist-inclined staff who are influenced by organisations and groups like Stonewall.'

The source said senior executives had grown accustomed to calling the shots at the commission but this changed when Baroness Falkner took over to provide 'real leadership'.

They said the complaints felt like a move to 'get her', adding: 'This process of finding fault with Kishwer is clearly political.' The dossier is said to have made claims of discrimination, including transphobia, bullying and harassment. ...

Full story (sorry!) at DM https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12112707/Whistleblowers-human-rights-commission-say-boss-facing-witch-hunt-trans-lobby.html

Surely they should be sacked, the civil service is required to be impartial otherwise it is nothing less than a coup by dictators.

Our response to media commentary about an internal investigation - ERHC

Marcial Boo, Equality and Human Rights Commission chief executive, said:

“We are disappointed with ongoing media reporting concerning an internal investigation.

“We have a duty to deal with complaints in confidence. We are also required to protect the integrity of internal investigations. We urge all media to avoid prejudicing the outcome.

“Our staff operate with neutrality and professionalism. Some legal issues on which we advise, particularly relating to sex and gender, can be very complex, and there are a range of views among our experts, as in society.

“No advice is ‘disregarded’. Our role is to make judgements on very difficult and contentious areas of the law after considering all advice.

“We operate an open-door policy and listen to and engage with people, both inside and outside our organisation, whose views reflect the whole spectrum of opinions. This helps support strong and impartial decision-making that is focused on evidence and the law.”

On staff welfare:

“Staff welfare is of paramount importance to us. Our recent staff survey confirmed that the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is a positive and supportive workplace.

“We treat allegations of bullying and harassment with the utmost seriousness, following the proper process, and instructing independent investigators where appropriate, in order to provide assurance to all parties concerned. It would be wrong to comment on specifics when investigations are ongoing.”

Regarding our recent letter to the government on the Equality Act:

“Both executive and non-executive staff rightly discussed a wide range of views, advice and evidence on legal, policy and practical matters relating to the operation of the Equality Act before advising that the definition of ‘sex’ in law was a matter that the government should consider.

“We were clear in our letter that the EHRC will continue to protect the rights of everyone in Britain, including those with the protected characteristics of sex and gender reassignment.”

A number of allegations have been referenced in a Channel 4 News report about the internal investigation. Our response to these is given below. -> https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/our-work/news/our-response-media-commentary-about-internal-investigation

staff fear the EHRC is no longer independent and has colluded with the Government to undermine trans rights

This doesn’t make sense. Men didn’t previously have the right to enter women’s toilets, changing rooms and all the other privileges they are demanding under the heading of ‘trans rights’. As they didn’t have those rights, they cannot be undermined.

Women’s rights, however, really are being undermined, by the demand for men to have access to all women’s spaces.

Wouldn't it be great if instead of large bottles of piss being delivered bundles and bundles of thank you cards were sent to...

Baroness Falkner
Chair of EHRC
Third floor
Windsor House
50 Victoria Street
London
SW1H 0TL

Marcial Boo does* *seem to come across as a person who cuts through the guff and strives for balance.

Yes. Thank you cards are a great idea. Visible support, for both the Baroness and the staff.

Thank you OhHolyJesus, I will send a card.

Telegraph.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/05/23/ehrc-baroness-falkner-trans-debate-civil-servants/

"Senior leaders at the taxpayer-funded body say they were left "blindsided" when a dossier, titled <a class="break-all" href="https://archive.is/o/gy54R/www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/05/23/baroness-falkner-ehrc-boss-to-fight-coup-trans-sentence/" rel="nofollow" target="blank">"Governance Concerns" from an unknown number of complainants,, began circulating in February."

"senior executives had "blindsided" others by escalating the issues to a KC-led probe rather than an internal inquiry"

Therefore, no due process.

Some more and new information:

"The source said that Baroness Falkner "feels like it's her against the world - she's felt hung out to dry but is pretty determined to fight this".
"It has escalated into a political chess game of vexatious complaints," the source said.
"A lot of these complaints emerged during that argument taking place - while the organisation is moving away from being a voice for activists, towards being a proper, grown up, professional regulator holding the ring between conflicting rights."
A third ally of Baroness Falkner said: "You can draw your own conclusions from the fact she wasn’t suspended. She has been doing the day job throughout all of this.""

And a view from a former EHRC COO:

"Ian Acheson, who was the chief operating officer of the EHRC from 2012 to 2015, said: "I spent an enormous amount of my time looking inwards to the organisation trying to deal with multiple factional disputes by a politicised workforce, more than delivering the core mission of a fairer Britain.
"I am saddened but not surprised that Baroness Falkner finds herself in this position because there will still be significant numbers of staff within the organisation who remain ideologically opposed to both the government of the day and that anything other than unconditional acceptance of people's declaration of their gender identity is acceptable, along with the implications for the safety and dignity of women and girls.
"Any attempt at nuance is therefore smeared as 'transphobic'. I think the organisation has been subverted by that orthodoxy and is taking it out on the chair.""

Accessible link:

twitter.com/cforwomenuk/status/1661214781179658240?s=46&t=WHoOZ_3Kv5G6-FyQuvE0LQ

I just posted the Telegraph article! That's all

Also in the Times today, not a particularly clear article though:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/c7bf13e6-f931-11ed-9be0-622d8a105167?shareToken=89ab0f53815e1fe398f9a176b24ba58f

Conservatives for Women Twitter has the Telegraph article which can be accessed in full

Maya on these complaints

www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-12117017/MAYA-FORSTATER-despicable-witch-hunt-trans-lobby-against-fine-principled-woman.html

twitter.com/mforstater/status/1661280446359937025?s=46&t=WHoOZ_3Kv5G6-FyQuvE0LQ

Staff from the executive team were said to having been pushing to allow for gender self-identification, allowing trans people to state their chosen gender without any medical diagnosis.

The strategy to move into policy positions has been wide ranging and effective in terms of healthcare, media, and education etc. with swift results in the removal of SSS. Absolutely the EHRC would have been seen as the linchpin to setting self ID gender = sexual in stone. If EHRC said so, it would be that much harder to be questioned.

Of course Baroness Falkner, would be seen as the enemy. To be discredited, threatened, removed somehow.

You can put any article behind a paywall onto 12ft ladder and it will remove the wall

The civil service are ignoring democracy and setting up their own government.

Caroline Nokes MP on C4 news is an absolute embarrassment. So much complaining that ‘Falkner needs to protect those with protected characteristics’ (meaning TQ+ people only.). Odd that Cathy Newman was challenging her on that. It’s literally as though they dont understand the Equality Act. We all have protected characteristics. All of us, because we are born humans. EHRC job is to support that legal protection and to suggest an appropriate position where groups have competing interests.

The ‘special rights’ view means that women and lesbians and gay men and children don’t get protection. We should just shut up and accept the obliteration of our safety, privacy, dignity in public life. We should be fine about losing freedom of speech, freedom to associate in a single sex group. We should just suck up all of the other multiple, complex disadvantages that privileging Gender Identity over biological sex inflicts on everyone else.

Its nonsense to claim that TQ+ people by definition as a group are the most vulnerable in society. There isn’t a fixed hierarchy of vulnerability with gender identity at the top. There isn’t a justification to give that group extra ‘rights’ (ie unfettered access to women’s spaces..) This line of thinking about how human rights should work is very dangerous for equality and safeguarding.

Caroline Nokes MP is the Tory Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee in Parliament. That committee’s job is to hold the government to account on Equality law. It’s off the charts inappropriate for someone in her position not be always promoting the importance of balancing competing rights. She seemed to completely dismiss any conflict with women, LBG people and children’s rights.
https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/328/women-and-equalities-committee/

Odd that Cathy Newman was NOT challenging Nokes on that. Was what I meant to post.

Q+ are not protected characteristics

The most vulnerable are surely small children and the very disabled. Both those groups rely entirely on others to ensure their ability to live at all, let alone alone dignity and freedom from harm. They can do nothing if someone seeks to harm them.

If staff have been found to have made vexatious complaints and false allegations against the Baroness I hope they will be disciplined.

I think it is worth reviewing the initial screening test used by the Civil Service and other parts of the public sector. Don't get through that and you don't even get the first Zoom interview.

Who decides what "personality" is the right one? Some Stonewall influenced HR person?

And they should personally, each individual involved in the witch hunt, be made to pay damages to the Baroness if they are found to be in the wrong in my opinion.

On the matter of cost from the Telegraph

"An employment barrister, Gavin Mansfield KC, of Littleton Chambers, has been drafted in to investigate the 40 complaints, in an investigation costing taxpayers £100,000. Lady Falkner is having to pay tens of thousands of pounds from her own pocket for lawyers to defend herself."

ResisterRex · Today 10:54

On the matter of cost from the Telegraph

*"An employment barrister, Gavin Mansfield KC, of Littleton Chambers, has been drafted in to investigate the 40 complaints, in an investigation costing taxpayers £100,000. Lady Falkner is having to pay tens of thousands of pounds from her own pocket for lawyers to defend herself."^

That is dreadful. I wonder if she needs help for the costs of her defence?

Remember the intern who doxxed posters from this board & shared information publicly that could identify them? All because she was unhappy with their defence of women's rights and child safeguarding which she thought was transphobic.

She subsequently got a job with the civil service! Possibly dealing with exceptionally confidential state and personal information. Says everything about the lack of certain values in the civil service.

That's outrageous!