Prof Jo Phoenix vs The OU - Employment Tribunal Thread 6

[ickky]

Started on 2nd October at Watford Employment Tribunal (Radius House, 51 Clarendon Rd, Watford WD17 1HP 01923 281750)

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Email [email protected]
Header should read
URGENT CURRENT CASE - Public Access Request - J Phoenix - The Open University - 3322700/2021

Ask for access link and pin and please give your name and address in the email as they check when you connect to the tribunal.

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Abbreviations

JP - Jo Phoenix, Claimant (C)
OU - The Open University, Respondent (R)
J - Regional Employment Judge Young
P - Panel or panel member
BC - Ben Cooper KC, Counsel for C
JM - Jane Mulcahy KC, Counsel for R
OU Departments & Networks:
HWSRA - Health & Wellbeing Strategic Research Area
FASS - Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
SPC - Dept of Social Policy & Criminology
KMi - Knowledge Media Institute
GCRN - Gender Critical Research Network

OU witnesses

PB - Dr Paraskevi Boukli, Former Senior Lecturer Criminology, Deputy Head SPC 2021-22
IF - Prof Ian Fribbance Dean of FASS
MW - Prof Marcia Wilson, Dean EDI, 2020-23
CM - Caragh Molloy, Group People Director 2019-23
LD - Dr Leigh Downes, Senior Lecturer in Criminology (in SPC), Academic Lead for EDI FASS 2019-21
PK - Peter Keogh, Professor Health & Society, Member RSSH
CW - Dr Christopher Williams, Senior Lecturer History
KS - Kevin Shakesheff. PVC for Research and Innovation
DD - Dr Deborah Drake, Senior Lecturer Criminology, Head of SPC 2018-21
CT - Catherine Tomlinson, Senior Student Advisor
LW - Louise Westmarland, Prof of Criminology, Co-Deputy Head SPC, 2018-21, Current Head SPC
JD - John Domingue, Prof of Computing Science, Director KMi, 2015-22
SD - Shaun Daley, Head OU’s Resourcing Hub. Head Strategic Resources, Co-Chair OU’s LGBT+ Staff Network
HBC - Helen Bowes-Catton, Lecturer Social Research Methods
NS - Nicola Snarey, Assoc Lecturer Eng Language
NatS - Natalie Starkey, Outreach & Public Engagement Officer Sch Physical Sciences, 2019-22
CT - Cath Tomlinson, Senior Student Advisor
SJ - Samantha Jacobson, Employee Relations Case Manager
RH - Richard Holliman, Prof Engaged Research, Head School Environment, Earth & Ecosystem Sciences, 2019-22. Member of Investigation Panel investigating the C’s grievance

Witness for JP:

SE - Sarah Earle, Professor Modern History Uni of Oxford, Founding member GCRN

Tribunal Tweets - twitter.com/tribunaltweets

TT coverage so far - https://tribunaltweets.substack.com/p/professor-jo-phoenix-v-the-open-university

Prof Jo Phoenix Witness Statement (scroll to bottom of page and download)

jophoenix.substack.com/p/phoenix-v-open-university?sd=pf

Thread 1 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4905118-jo-phoenix-vs-the-ou-employment-tribunal-2nd-october-whispers-ben-cooper?page=1

Thread 2 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4913946-prof-jo-phoenix-vs-the-ou-employment-tribunal-thread-2?page=1

Thread 3 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4917480-prof-jo-phoenix-vs-the-ou-employment-tribunal-thread-3

Thread 4 www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4918479-prof-jo-phoenix-vs-the-ou-employment-tribunal-thread-4

Thread 5 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4919223-prof-jo-phoenix-vs-the-ou-employment-tribunal-thread-5

She's exhibited no empathy at all for Jo's wellbeing or feelings, making her disdain and dislike very clear in a court of law which is open to members of the public to observe. You've got to wonder how unpleasant she'd be behind closed doors.

We have all been kicked, you need to log back in, before Justin has a hissy git again.

It sounds like an abusive environment for Jo. Coercive control - Jo says reasonable things which are then twisted to become evil things. Lots of people ganging up to do this.

She kept LD front and centre.
That was her brief, and she kept it to the letter.

So LD being kept at the centre, is that so they can be the actual nonbinary/ trans person that everyone is so concerned for, the balancing rights thing again?

TT commentary

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1714261007437103451.html

And JD says in his profile that he wants the world to contain institutions that communicate with each other without a human presence in order to create and fulfill contractual obligations. Like I said, this block of text is an ethics-free zone. Fucking scary stuff.

Who will give me odds on DD singing like a canary about the letter now that they've all pledged allegiance?

It's frustrating. These people allege that using the term 'male-bodied' made trans and nb people sooo upset and unsafe. Upsetting them was unacceptable.

Yet staff were retweeting abusive tweets, calling GCRN 'terfs and transphobes', signing and circulating a spiteful letter, and their reaction to that is to shrug their shoulders and say 'how was I supposed to know JP would find this bullying behaviour upsetting?'

Slimy hypocrites. I hope BC tears them apart in his submissions.

Justin never seems to let us in at the start. Always just that bit too late.

Back in, they had already started.

It's frustrating. These people allege that using the term 'male-bodied' made trans and nb people sooo upset and unsafe. Upsetting them was unacceptable.

Yet staff were retweeting abusive tweets, calling GCRN 'terfs and transphobes', signing and circulating a spiteful letter, and their reaction to that is to shrug their shoulders and say 'how was I supposed to know JP would find this bullying behaviour upsetting?'

Quite.

LW: we'd ask people to make their research fit with our ethical concerns or questions

LW is a current member - voted in - of OU Ethics Committee.
It probably identifies as an Ethics Committee

What an utterly odd way to try and attribute that comment to JP.

What on earth does she make of UK academic Adam Rutherford's book for a UK (and wider) audience? E.g., see his YT: How to argue with your racist uncle.

48

LW: we'd ask people to make their research fit with our ethical concerns or questions Such a sinister statement isn't it?

I’m sure she’d very much like to make people fit their research to her ethics 🙄

Was in earlier but for this situation I seem to be stuck in the lobby. How does Justin decide who gets in? Is it a bribes thing?!?

for situation read session.

Impossible to hear panel q

You could try ringing them, Justin is very angry today though.

JM re examine
Can't really hear her. I am being deafened by LW turning pages.

Open justice obviously not Justin's remit

LW is a current member - voted in - of OU Ethics Committee.
It probably identifies as an Ethics Committee

Strong memories here of McGahey's testimony in re: Allison Bailey in which apartheid was used as a comparator. Cathryn McGahey was vice-chair of the Bar Council’s ethics committee during the period in question.

https://unherd.com/thepost/qc-compares-lesbians-refusing-sex-with-transwomen-to-apartheid/

What number do you use? I used one on the email I got the other day and got sent through to some central number who then tried to help me. Is there a direct number to Watford? Cheers.

J and panel asking unheard q. LW just saying can't remember to it all.