Latest news with #RosieDuffield
The Sun
07-06-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Leftie teachers, cops and doctors trying to swerve court trans ruling named & shamed in damning report
A DAMNING dossier names and shames leftie organisations trying to swerve the trans Supreme Court ruling. It shows radical gender ideology is still embedded in bodies from healthcare and education. 4 4 Despite the landmark judgement in April that trans women are not women. MP Rosie Duffield warned the report by Policy Exchange think tank shows ministers must crack down on any organisations failing to comply with the law. The report found the biggest teaching union NEU said trans women in schools must be allowed to use ladies' toilets. The National Police Chiefs' Council said they would not 'rush' to change biological sex strip searching rules. And doctors at the BMA union who called the ruling 'scientifically illiterate'. Ms Duffield, who quit Labour last year after clashing with Keir Starmer over women's rights, said: 'How many more will simply stay silent and allow local activists to continue to run the show? 'Government ministers must lead from the top to ensure public bodies comply with the law: ultimately, this is their responsibility. 'Radical positions on gender identity have become deeply embedded and it will be the work of years to rectify it. 'There should be no illusions that this is over: there will be many more battles to fight before women's sex-based rights are secure.' 4 4 Report author Lara Brown praised campaigners like JK Rowling for shining a light on the gender debate. But added: 'There is still much more to be done.' " Schools need to support and treat all their staff fairly, including women and trans staff, and unions can help achieve this.''
Telegraph
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Public sector struggling to define what a woman is, trans report finds
Public sector workers and trade unions are widely refusing to accept the Supreme Court's judgment on what a woman is, a think tank has warned. A new study by Policy Exchange shows that dozens of organisations across the public, private and charitable sectors have continued to question the legal meaning of 'a woman', despite the ruling. In April, the court ruled that the term 'woman' refers to a biological female in the Equality Act 2010. The decision means trans women, who were born male, should use men's toilets, changing rooms and other single-sex spaces, contradicting the previous stance of a string of public sector organisations. Policy Exchange's report, the fifth edition of its 'Biology Matters Compendium', compiles examples of organisations refusing to acknowledge the legal force of the court's judgment. These include universities, professional bodies and several trade unions, along with other public bodies. Rosie Duffield, the gender-critical MP who left the Labour Party last year, hailed the report and said it showed that 'radical positions on gender identity have become deeply embedded and it will be the work of years to rectify it'. Ms Duffield wrote in the foreword: 'There should be no illusions that this is over: there will be many more battles to fight before women's sex-based rights are secure.' Lara Brown, the author of the report, said that 'despite progress, our latest edition of the Biology Matters Compendium reveals there is still a great deal of ideological capture in the policy and practice of many public institutions'. 'The defence of sex-based rights does not end with a court ruling. It requires persistent scrutiny, open debate, and the courage to challenge ideological orthodoxy – wherever it may reside. This compendium finds that in this domain, there is still much more to be done.' The report notes that at least seven major trade unions have appeared to question the ruling in recent months. Unison, one of the UK's largest unions, and the University and Colleges Union, which represents academic and support staff in further and higher education institutions, have warned of the judgment's 'harmful implications'. The Fire Brigades' Union has said in response to the ruling that 'the law is not always on the right side of history'. The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (Aslef) released a statement on social media saying that it 'recognises the distress and uncertainty that the Supreme Court's ruling about the definition of sex in the Equality Act 2010 has caused to trans and non-binary communities.' The union declared: 'We have a proud history of championing the rights of our trans and non-binary members and we continue to stand in solidarity with them.' A collection of unions, including Unite, the civil service union PCS, the RMT and the BFAWU, a food industry union, have staged marches against the Supreme Court's decision, with one leading figure declaring that 'the trade union movement will protect and stand with trans people, whether the law cares or not.' Policy Exchange's report also draws attention to professional bodies such as the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy continuing to describe gender self-identification as 'valid'. After the Supreme Court judgment, a number of public bodies announced plans to change their policies on gender recognition. Within days, the British Transport Police announced that trans women could in future only be strip-searched by male officers. The NHS was also told by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the equalities watchdog, to change guidelines that did not fit the newly clarified legal settlement. The Football Association announced that athletes would have to compete in their biological sex categories, going forward. But other bodies were more reluctant to accept the ruling. The British Medical Association, the doctors' union, branded the Supreme Court's decision 'scientifically illiterate'. Meanwhile, the National Police Chiefs' Council said it would 'not rush' to change rules on strip-searching in order to fall in with the court's decision.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dawn French apologises for 'mocking tone' in video about Israel-Hamas conflict
Dawn French has apologised and taken down a video she posted about the war in Gaza after facing backlash. The popular actress and comedian said she apologised "unreservedly" after posting a video in a "mocking tone". In the original 40-second clip, the Vicar of Dibley star said: "Complicated, no, but nuanced. But bottom line is no." Then, using a different tone, she went on: "Yeah, but you know they did a bad thing to us, yeah but no. "But we want that land... and we have history... No. "Those people aren't really even people, are they really? No." On Saturday afternoon, she issued an apology, saying that in an effort to convey "an important message" she had "clumsily used a mocking tone". "My intention was NEVER to mock, or dismiss, or diminish the horror of what happened on 7 October 2023," she posted on X and Instagram. She said her intention was to "point the finger of shame at the behaviour of the cruel leader on ALL sides of this atrocious war". French faced criticised after her initial post. Actress Tracy-Ann Oberman said she was "saddened" by it. She said: "This mocking voice 'bad thing' of October 7 that Dawn (who I revere by the way) appears ro [sic] be mocking involved the most horrific terrorist attack." Read more from Sky News: MP Rosie Duffield responded to Oberman's post, saying: "One can, and should hate what is happening in Gaza and also condemn the hideous events of October 7th. "It is agonising to see events unfold, and requires extremely careful, measured and well-considered comments and actions. This is not that." Some social media users tried to pressure M&S, who French voices adverts for, over the incident. In October 2023, Hamas led other militant groups in a cross-border attack, killing around 1,200 people and taking about 250 people hostage. Since then, Israel has launched a number of large-scale campaigns in the region, including in Gaza where over 54,000 people have been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the enclave. Many of these are said to be women and children. Israel claims to be targeting militants and blames collateral deaths on Hamas fighters positioning themselves in densely populated areas.
Sky News
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Dawn French apologises for 'mocking tone' in video about Israel-Hamas conflict
Dawn French has apologised and taken down a video she posted about the war in Gaza after facing backlash. The popular actress and comedian said she apologised "unreservedly" after posting a video in a "mocking tone". In the original 40-second clip, the Vicar of Dibley star said: "Complicated, no, but nuanced. But bottom line is no." Then, using a different tone, she went on: "Yeah, but you know they did a bad thing to us, yeah but no. "But we want that land... and we have history... No. "Those people aren't really even people, are they really? No." On Saturday afternoon, she issued an apology, saying that in an effort to convey "an important message" she had "clumsily used a mocking tone". "My intention was NEVER to mock, or dismiss, or diminish the horror of what happened on 7 October 2023," she posted on X and Instagram. She said her intention was to "point the finger of shame at the behaviour of the cruel leader on ALL sides of this atrocious war". French faced criticised after her initial post. Actress Tracy-Ann Oberman said she was "saddened" by it. She said: "This mocking voice 'bad thing' of October 7 that Dawn (who I revere by the way) appears ro [sic] be mocking involved the most horrific terrorist attack." MP Rosie Duffield responded to Oberman's post, saying: "One can, and should hate what is happening in Gaza and also condemn the hideous events of October 7th. "It is agonising to see events unfold, and requires extremely careful, measured and well-considered comments and actions. This is not that." Some social media users tried to pressure M&S, who French voices adverts for, over the incident. In October 2023, Hamas led other militant groups in a cross-border attack, killing around 1,200 people and taking about 250 people hostage. Since then, Israel has launched a number of large-scale campaigns in the region, including in Gaza where over 54,000 people have been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the enclave. Many of these are said to be women and children.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Dawn French says sorry for posting 'one-sided' Gaza video
Dawn French has taken down a video she posted on Instagram about the war in Gaza, saying she apologised "unreservedly" for it. The video sparked a backlash, with critics accusing the actress and comedian of appearing to "mock" the 7 October 2023 attack. On Saturday, French acknowledged on Instagram that the video "appeared one-sided", and said she never meant to "mock, or dismiss, or diminish the horror" of that day. "I hope you will understand my intention was not to offend, but I clearly have. For which I am sorry and I have removed the video," she added. In the 40-second video, posted earlier this week, the Vicar of Dibley star shared her views on the ongoing war, saying: "Complicated, no, but nuanced. But [the] bottom line is no." Switching into a high-pitched voice, she went on to say: "Yeah, but you know they did a bad thing to us, yeah but no. But we want that land... and we have history… No. Those people aren't really even people, are they really? No." On social media, people were quick to criticise her, with actress Tracy-Ann Oberman saying she was "so saddened" by the post. "This mocking voice 'bad thing' of October 7 that Dawn (who I revere by the way) appears [to] be mocking involved the most horrific terrorist attack involving rape, sexual violence, burning alive, child mutilation and taking of civilian hostages," she wrote. "Why would Dawn seem to deny that which has affected so many of us personally in the most painful way possible." MP Rosie Duffield commented on Oberman's post, writing: "One can, and should hate what is happening in Gaza and also condemn the hideous events of October 7th. "It is agonising to see events unfold, and requires extremely careful, measured and well-considered comments and actions. This is not that." Meanwhile, screenwriter and activist Lee Kern called her video "sneering mockery". Responding to the backlash, French said that she had posted a video in the style that she has been using for social media "in an effort to convey an important point". She added that she had "clumsily used a mocking tone". "My intention was NEVER to mock, or dismiss, or diminish the horror of what happened on 7 October 2023 and what continues to unfold from that brutal unthinkable, unforgiveable, savage attack," she said. She said her intention had been "to mock and point the finger of shame at the behaviour of the cruel leaders on all sides of this atrocious war". "THEY were my target, but clearly I failed to do that, and that's on me. I apologise unreservedly, and I'm particularly sorry that my disgust at Hamas didn't figure. It appeared one-sided and that is wrong." Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led cross-border attack almost 20 months ago, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. Some 54 of those captured during the attack remain in captivity, including 31 the Israeli military says are dead. At least 54,607 people have been killed in Gaza since then, including 4,335 since Israel resumed its offensive on 18 March, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.
