Gscene News Archive

After careful consideration and with the agreement of the ‘victim’ we have decided to break the restrictive reporting order and identify the teacher in the case 'Brighton Council discriminates against transgender teacher' (see this blog post). Natasha Thoday (left) has been treated disgracefully by Brighton & Hove City Council, bullied and threatened with further legal action.

Despite asking councillors for help, none was forthcoming because our elected officials were not prepared to fall out of favour with senior Council officers.

Despite repeated requests, the Council has failed to satisfy Miss Thoday as to why they chose to appeal the original tribunal decision and justify the financial costs of doing so. Leader of the Council Mary Mears has admitted that this was done to ‘protect the Council’s position.’ The Council’s legal team in effect directed a Council employee to break the law and not provide Miss Thoday with a reference for over four years.

This is not the first case involving trans employees to hit the headlines. Andy Baldwin, who co-wrote Miss Thoday’s recent tribunal case, is a former Brighton Council employee. He was the Co-ordinator of the LGBT Community Safety Forum. Andy Baldwin took the Council to tribunal in 2005. I was a witness myself in the case, having been on the interview panel that had appointed Mr Baldwin to his post in the Council. The Council’s defence to the claim of transphobia at the time was that they did not know Mr. Baldwin was in transition so in effect there was no case to answer.

I have no doubt that while the reporting restrictions on this case helped Miss Thoday get a positive result, had the reporting restriction been imposed on Mr. Baldwin’s tribunal, I have no doubt there would have been a different outcome.

For a variety of reasons at the time of Mr. Baldwin’s case, it went unreported that the then gay Chief Executive’s partner, a police officer, intended to undergo gender reassignment. Within a month the gay Chief Executive David Panter (left) had given his notice and taken an appointment in the health service in Australia. I think it is reasonable to ask the question, did he go or was he pushed? Institutional transphobia is particularly difficult to challenge.

Everyone involved with trying to cover up Miss Thoday’s plight within Brighton Council should hang their heads in shame.