Couple threatened by police and not to contact Councillor over trans row

[umbel]

Further weaponising of the police to call non-believers to heel. This relates to the Cathy Boardman vs private HE provider BIMM case, which is still in need of gardening over at CrowdJustice. I think we should all Support Lecturers and Respect Students.

Story also being carried by the Times, Telegraph, Sun, GB News, and being studiously ignored by the Guardian.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14557881/amp/lecturer-threatened-arrest-row-councillor-fundraiser-trans-women-banned.html

Using official email for private business shouldn’t be tolerated. People can easily create temporary email addresses if they want to keep their personal email address confidential. Sending personal correspondence via government channels makes it seem like an endorsement.

I dont think you can have read the story.

But the situation seems to be that Boardman wrote to Boden using her official email address, because she was his councillor; she replied from that same address, not to wanting to give her personal address to someone obviously hostile. Are you saying Boden should have done something different, Ponderingwindow? This isn't a case I have followed and I'm not sure I understand.

Quote:

Cllr Boden said she didn't know the fundraiser was for his daughter and said that it was a breach of equality laws for an event to be held at a publicly funded venue that excluded trans people.

Well clearly Cllr Boden is another politician who has chosen not to understand the provisions that the EA allows under the SSE.

Not forgetting that many Rape Crisis Centres and Women's Refuges are in "publicly funded venues".

So if as the story suggests if was the Councillor who was campaigning against the event, why wouldn't she expect to get emails about it.

Interesting to note that she is no longer in the Labour Party.

I wonder if it is linked to this.

Yes, I wondered how recent that departure from the Labour Party was, and whether it was a case of leaving, or being pushed out. But surely it's part of the job of councillors to respond to contact from members of the public, and if, sometimes, you don't like their tone too much, maybe being a councillor, or other public-facing role, is not for you.

"She said: 'In January 2023 Dave Boardman sent me a series of angry and aggressive emails, which I advised him were factually inaccurate and that I found harassing. I requested he desist from writing to me. He persisted.

'He wrote to me on my council email; he has been repeatedly advised that the lead legal officer for Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council (responsible for my regulation as a councillor) has determined that I was acting in a private capacity in this matter, not as a councillor.

'The legal officer also determined that it was entirely appropriate for me to reply to Dave Boardman on my council email as this meant I did not have to give this individual my private email address, which would have been a gross intrusion into my privacy.

'The legal officer also determined that I was perfectly within my rights to block Dave Boardman from that email account (which I did) in view of the contents and tone of the emails. Dave Boardman was advised that he had two other ward councillors who he could contact with any council issues.

'Since then, Dave Boardman has been conducting a campaign of letter-writing and social media posts about me. My solicitor sent him a cease and desist letter in 2023. He has been advised that I will now be commencing legal proceedings against him for harassment and stalking. I will be seeking a restraining order, costs and exemplary damages.

'Throughout, I have found Dave Boardman to be irrational, terrifying and obsessive.'"

Sounds reasonable for her to contact the police.

Cllr Boden's social media is quite the eye opener.

Id like to know exactly how his emails were “factually inaccurate” given that she doesn’t actually understand the law herself, as IWTR pointed out.

Isn't it just.

A woman in her sixties spending so much time on social media jeering and sneering at how other women look. Very odd behaviour. She seems really horrible.

Police decided NFA so he obviously wasn't that terrifying. Maybe mildly annoyed at her shit-stirring about the fundraiser?

Makes a change for it to be a GC man getting accused of being a scary transphobic witch.

And a lot easier to go the 'poor me' about. Cynical.

Women-only events aren’t illegal, so why is this councillor pretending they are? This isn’t Afghanistan. Though it gets more like it every day.

I am Cathy's mum. This story is two years old and, for the record, the university accepted that they were wrong, and settled out of court. A few days ago the Times contacted us wanting to cover it again because of the renewed interest in free speech and police overreach.

Thanks for posting this.

And good to know the University settled out of court.

But doesn't undo the wrong in starting or implying legal actions.

As oftent gets said on this forum the process is the punishment.

Hope Cathy and all the family are now able to feel free of this intimidation from that time.

Thanks for coming on @Vivthegrandmaand how ridiculous that the Police called when you corrected a councillor who misunderstood the law. So pleased the university settled

I wondered why this was being reported 2 years after it happened, but @Vivthegrandma explains it. The DM is rehashing a Times article but without the context that the Times was revisiting it in relation to recent similar incidents.