Tempest v Rural Payments Agency Tribunal Thread (follow on from Chair of SEEN is being sued)

[myladydisdainisyetliving]

Previous thread: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5031904-the-chair-of-seen-is-being-sued
TT substack: https://tribunaltweets.substack.com/p/tempest-vs-defra-and-rural-payments

Tempest (a TW) is claiming discrimination, harassment and/or victimisation on grounds of gender reassignment. Central to the claim is the Sex Equality and Equity Network in the Civil Service (SEEN or IP). SEEN has been granted right to intervene. Parts of the original claim against the co-chair of SEEN (Elspeth Duemmer-Wrigley) and another party (Andreas Mueller) were struck out or narrowed. Another claimant, PQ, is no longer part of the case.

The hearing is in Leeds; the number of online observers has been limited by the court due to "capacity" and posters are reporting that requests for links are being declined on those grounds.

Also to note that Elspeth still has a garden in need of seeds and water to support the ability of SEEN to be an intervenor in this case.

Oh that would be interesting.......

Was agreeing with the likely source of funds.

I haven't heard anything so far said/posted that would be 'beyond reasonably acceptable'.

ST is beyond the Bananarama defence - he's been clear there is nothing they could have said that would be acceptable.

Mr Graham Corbett
Perhaps this guy?

Graham is Senior National Officer at the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), and a Member of the Employment Tribunal Panel. Formerly, he was Deputy Head of Legal Services at the PCS and a civil servant at the Department of Environment and Transport. He previously chaired the Departmental Trade Union Side for negotiations and was a senior lay representative at the Civil and Public Services Association.
Location: West Yorkshire

Interesting. I wonder if he knows this prominent fellow PCS person, the chair of PCS Proud and Regional chair of Yorkshire and Humberside.

https://www.mypcs.pcs.org.uk/s/article/Introducing-Your-PCS-Proud-National-Officers

I'll find a photo...

If he was PCS he may have taken voluntary retirement in 2009 and started doing things like the Legal Services Board as well as employment tribunals.https://www.legalservicesconsumerpanel.org.uk/news/documents/20091110ConsumerPanellaunch.pdf

The fragrant Saorsa. Not his first appearance in FWR.

Nope, I misremembered.

Did i miss a bit off this thread as not understanding

I think there is rather a lot of speculation on here at the moment based on the judges bench book mistake.

personally i took heart in him double checking that ST thinks that allowing seen and any GC expression is the haraasment and discrimination was more about incredulity.

One can not argue that in light of Forstarter and Higgs, its a dead end.

Sorry, I'm not explaining very well. This TW is a prominent activist and PCSU member based in Yorkshire. He featured on a thread a couple of years ago which somebody linked up-thread and I was looking at earlier. The Yorkshire location made me think it would be surprising if two such leading lights in the locality had not crossed paths.

https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-13725993/Minister-civil-servants-fetish-gear-work-transgender.html

Ms J Lee and Graham Corbett have sat together at least once before - judgement here https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/678a745e976cb51ae15735d6/Mr_D_Milton_v_Royal_Mail_Group_Limited_1800863.2024.pdf

Ms Lee is going to be an employer side rep so anyone know anything about her?

Thanks for the clarification. I wonder now if there has been a whip round amongst the LGBTQ network and a go fund me type thing that has not drawn attention.

Thanks for the C&Ping and excellent commentary everyone

I've only read up to the end of yesterday's court day, but what a palaver, Naomi has a lot to work with here!

https://www.facebook.com/PcsUnion/videos/saorsa-amatheia-tweedale/1925210131680938/

PCS Proud - Yorkshire and Humberside

Saorsa Tweedale is a high-profile figure linking Civil Service LGBT+ networks, DWP, and union activism.

So Elspeth would have been exposed to lots of material from Saorsa - if he was heading up the Civil Service LGBT+ network group. Maybe less so if all groups went closed but his network reach was very large.

https://gendercriticalwoman.blog/2023/06/04/saorsa-amatheia-tweedale/

How can Tinkerbell say that he was harassed and bullied by SEEN's very inclusive post - and yet women have to see Saorsa in women face being hostile to sex realism.

https://gendercriticalwoman.blog/2023/06/05/saorsa-amatheia-tweedale-2/ (for my own interests)

This is what the networks were exposed to - and there is so much external material where he shares pretty denigrating things about sex realists.

Co-chair of the LGBT network that I assume Tinkerbell was part of - and no issues raised about how offensive or harassing this individual is toward those who hold gender critical views.

Its always so one sided.

A man doing what some men do he is TATE IN A DRESS.

Fucking loathsome individual.

Can anyone who is PCS Union knowledgeable advise me

It seems like a Senior National Officer of a Union is a pretty senior role?

Just from google - but if our lay panel member was well embedded in the Union to SNR level - then their views would likely have closely reflected that of the Union messaging at the time of their tenure - or am I guessing wildly?

Key National Leadership
General Secretary: Fran Heathcote
President: Bev Laidlaw
Acting Deputy President: Martin Cavanagh
Senior National Officer: Paul O'Connor

Union Structure & Operations
The union's permanent officers—including National Officers and Organizers—are appointed and directed by the National Executive Committee (NEC). They are responsible for implementing the policies passed at the Annual Delegate Conference. These officials handle everything from managing legal and collective disputes to supporting regional devolved nations and coordinating workplace equalities networks.

I've only read the first few pages of Tinkerbell's witness statement but this stands out and it's page 1:

I wish to make clear from the outset that I respect the right of other employees to hold gender critical beliefs. My complaint has never been about the right to hold a belief. It is about the manifestation of those beliefs in the workplace and the failure of my employer to protect me from the harassment and distress that has resulted.

It's the bananarama defence on steroids - you can have those views but expressing or manifesting them in any way is harassment and transphobia. It's not even the way that you said it, it's that you said it at all.

This is followed by an awful lot of being devastated, perceived aggressions, terrible risks to his safety and wellbeing and how the CS used to be his safe space.

I think we're at the point we all know he lied in his witness statement because if people are gender critical and they don't say anything but he knows they don't believe in him... he will cease to exist.

THAT is the nub of his complaint

He absolutely MUST know that everyone believes in and affirms his Special And True Identity otherwise it’s #SadTimes at Tinkerbell Towers.

I read through the thread linked above about the setting up of the CS SEEN network, and I was genuinely appalled by how scared so many perfectly rational posters were about signing up to it, or being in any way seen as GC. To those of you who are still here - I hope things feel a lot better in 2026 than they did in 2022/23.

He wants women strung up for thought crime in essence.

If one women doesn't admire him in his ladylike dresses he deserves six month paid leave from work to deal with his female feelings of non existence.

Poor Tinkerbell. He is so vulnerable and sad that a single factual internal network social media post can upset him so.

If I was a Civil Service and faced with Soarsa regularly I would feel harassed. The pentagram, witchy get up, almost fetishistic black lace vibe - and that is how he is turning up to work.

If an actual woman turned up wearing that to work in the Civil Service I imagine someone would have a word.....

@SexRealistic

I have really appreciated your posts, until now.
You MADE me click on that link with the Saorsa eulogy and speech.
I don't think you should post things like that anywhere near bedtime.

😂