News you need, the perspective you won’t find anywhere else. The trans community’s guide to UK news, media and politics and our place in it.
The Trans Agenda
[6 April 2025]
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Having failed to include an introduction in most editions of this newsletter’s short life, I’ve promised myself I’ll try to remember going forward. That said, this week my brain feels like it’s been turned to mush, likely Covid, despite negative tests. The absence of taste and smell is the giveaway.
It’s been another week of the same shite dressed as breaking news. We’re living in Groundhog Day on steroids, courtesy of the Nazi at the gym. A few new grifters found their way into the headlines, Helen Joyce continues to ensure that there will be no way back for her when this madness finally ends, and it will end, while the British media remain steadfast in ignoring the escalating horrors being inflicted on trans people under their ‘feminist hero’, Donald Trump. To their credit, they’re also ignoring his attacks on cisgender women, so at least the consistency is admirable, if not much else.
UK & IRELAND NEWS
NHS admits denying gender-affirming healthcare to trans children [Sunday Times]
The NHS has not prescribed a single new course of hormones or puberty blockers to trans children since closing the Tavistock clinic a year ago, cutting off medical care for young people. Despite over 250 children being seen in new regional services, none have been offered gender-affirming hormone treatment. Thousands remain on waiting lists. NHS England confirmed that while prescriptions are technically still possible, no case has yet been deemed ‘appropriate’ by a national panel, reflecting the ideological policy shift away from supporting trans youth through medical care.
Universities retreat from trans inclusion policies after free speech fine
According to The Times [Saturday] UK universities are reviewing or removing trans inclusion policies after the University of Sussex was fined £585,000 by the Office for Students for policies that defend trans people. The infiltrated regulator claimed Sussex’s policy risked deterring lawful gender-critical views, i.e. bigotry. Several institutions, including Leeds, Essex, and Exeter, are now revising documents amid sector-wide anxiety and government-encouraged discrimination.
Darlington nurses case adjourned
The case of the Darlington nurses, who are seemingly harassing a trans nurse for existing, and who are supported by Wes Streeting, has been adjourned until 20 October to allow the NHS to ‘carry out an internal investigation’. The hearing will then take four weeks with around 30 witnesses. The case has already generated a lot of media coverage, with the Mail naming the trans nurse in full this week. Between now and October, I fully expect the nurse’s life to be destroyed by the press in the name of ‘protecting women’.
Helen Joyce calls for surgeons to be jailed for life
Helen Joyce, the prominent but ignorant Sex Matters anti-trans activist, told the Oxford Literary Festival that doctors who perform gender-affirming surgeries on teenagers should be jailed for life. Joyce, who framed trans identity as a “social contagion” and called UK leaders “cowards,” was met with student protest. See PAPER REVIEW for more. She has previously called trans people a ‘huge problem for a sane world’ and said she would like that to be her epitaph.
Labour ignore trans people on Trans Day of Visibility
AROUND THE WORLD
Canada: British Columbia nurse found guilty of unprofessional conduct over anti-trans comments [CBC]
A disciplinary panel has ruled that Amy Hamm, a BC nurse, committed unprofessional conduct by making anti-transgender statements while publicly identifying as a nurse. The panel said her comments, made across various platforms, were discriminatory, undermined trust in the nursing profession, and may deter trans people from seeking care. Hamm is free to appeal the decision but faces potential penalties.
Spain: Please watch this
Norway: Trans people having their medical records snooped on
USA: Montana’s adult trans bathroom ban blocked by judge for lacking evidence [Erin Reed]
A Montana judge has temporarily blocked the state’s adult transgender bathroom ban, ruling it was driven by anti-trans animus and lacked evidence it protects women’s safety. The law, signed by Governor Greg Gianforte, barred transgender and intersex people from using the public bathrooms they wished to use. The judge found it unconstitutional, discriminatory, and based on unscientific definitions of sex.
USA: Trans woman arrested for using women’s restroom says she’s ‘willing to suffer for dignity’ [Pink News]
Marcy Rheintgen, a 20-year-old trans woman from Illinois, was arrested for trespassing after peacefully protesting Florida’s anti-trans bathroom law by using a women’s restroom at the state Capitol. Charged under the 2023 Facility Requirements Based on Sex Act, Rheintgen faces a possible jail sentence and said she’s “willing to suffer for the trans community” and for “dignity, rights, and humanity.”
USA: Trans care is child abuse
USA: Trump administration halts trans health research to push ‘regret’ narrative [Nature]
The Trump White House has directed the NIH to focus on “regret” after transition while cancelling nearly all existing transgender health studies. This politically driven move sidelines critical, evidence-based research in favour of ideologically skewed projects. It creates a dangerous knowledge vacuum, despite data showing that fewer than 1% of trans people regret gender-affirming surgery. A large percentage of that 1% also claim their ‘regret’ comes from the social cost inflicted upon them for transitioning.
SPORT
Fencer disqualified for refusing to compete against trans opponent [Pink News]
Stephanie Turner was disqualified from a Maryland fencing tournament after refusing to compete against Redmond Sullivan, insultingly taking a knee instead. Turner admitted she intended to protest USA Fencing’s inclusive policy, which allows trans women to compete after one year of testosterone suppression. USA Fencing defended its stance, stating it aims to expand access and uphold equal rules for all athletes. It remains to be seen how long they will maintain that stance once Donald Trump and the other grifters get involved, which they inevitably will.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Labour MP arrested for rape and child abuse
Labour MP Dan Norris, also Mayor of the West of England, has been arrested on suspicion of rape, child sex offences, child abduction, and misconduct in public office. Police raided his home on Friday. Norris has been suspended by the Labour Party and stepped down as chair of the League Against Cruel Sports.
Marine Le Pen found guilty of embezzlement, political career over
A French court has found Marine Le Pen guilty of embezzling over €3 million in EU funds to pay members of her National Rally party. The conviction includes a ban from holding public office, ending her chances in the 2027 presidential race. The right-wing papers in the UK have spent the days since the verdict telling us all why it is a bad thing she has faced consequences for her actions.
THE WEEK AHEAD
Full parliament business can be viewed here. The House of Commons goes into recess after the end of business on 8 April until 22 April. The House of Lords is already in recess.
Monday 7 April
Report: WHO on maternal mortality
Tuesday 8 April
Wes Streeting to appear at a committee session on NHS reorganisation
Louisiana deportation hearing for Mahmoud Khalil
Wednesday 9 April
King Charles to address joint session of Italian parliament
Thursday 10 April
Report: NHS key services data, including for A&E and waiting times
Friday 11 April
Monthly UK GDP estimate
80 years ago: Buchenwald liberated
SHORTS
As of 1 April, victims can attend the parole hearings of their perpetrators as part of the Government’s Plan for Change. [UK Government]
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 was confirmed in commercial poultry at a fifth premises near Thirsk, Thirsk & Malton, North Yorkshire. [UK Government]
Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted paedophile, referred to Lord Mandelson as “family”, a court in London was told. [Times]
THE PAPERS
This week, the papers were somewhat quieter than they were last week (20 v 29) but they are still keeping up the pace.
The Telegraph leads the way as usual with nine, the Mail is next with six, while the Times had four and the Guardian one.
There was no overarching theme this week, with attacks spanning a range of subjects, all featuring the same people crying.
Only one day (Friday) had no articles.
Whose bylines were on all these articles? Amanda Platell, Ben Butcher, Ben Spencer, Celia Walden, Chris Pollard, David Leask, David Sanderson, Dominic Penna, Glen Owen, Helen Carroll, Ian Gallagher, Jenni Murray, Keiran Southern, Michael Deacon, Natasha Leake, Nicola Woolcock, Sally Weale, Sam Merrriman, Telegraph reporters (3), Tim Sigworth (2).
Quoted, mentioned or featured this week: Adult Human Female (4), Andrea Williams, Bethany Hutchison, Carolyn Brown, Christian Legal Centre (2), Darlington nurses (2), Dave Boardman, Deirdre O’Neill (4), Helen Joyce (3), Jennifer Melle, JK Rowling, Kathleen Stock (2), Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch, Matt Davis, Michael Wayne (4), Ofs, Sex Matters (2), Sharron Davies, Toby Young (2), Wes Streeting, Women’s Rights Network.
Spotted or know something you think I should include in the Trans Agenda?
THE PAPERS Monday 31 March – Sunday 62 March
Monday Total: 1
Telegraph [1]
Tuesday Total: 6
The Guardian [1]
The Times [1]
Daily Mail [1]
Telegraph [3]
Wednesday Total: 2
The Times [1]
![‘Transphobe’ film-makers sue union David Leask Simply discussing gender-critical views can result in someone being branded a transphobe, an academic suing her union has claimed. Deirdre O’Neill and her colleague Michael Wayne were criticised by the University and College Union (UCU) when they tried to show their film Adult Human Female at Edinburgh University three years ago. The documentary was twice blocked by protesters supported by union leaders who felt the film incited hate of transgender people. O’Neill and Wayne, scholars at Hertfordshire and Brunel universities, are taking the UCU to an employment tribunal, arguing the criticism amounted to unlawful discrimination. O’Neill told the tribunal it was “very important to hear both sides of the argument”. She added: “The bar is so low now that any attempt to discuss [this area] and you get accused of being a transphobe ... there’s no hate in the film. Trans rights in some areas clash with female rights; we wanted to work out how we address that.” The tribunal, which is being held remotely, was told the documentary, released in November 2022, examined claims made by trans rights activists that “trans women are women and should be treated as women in all legal and social contexts”. When the UCU’s Edinburgh branch became aware of a planned screening at the university in December 2022, a letter was sent to the principal, Peter Mathieson, demanding that the event be halted, the tribunal was told. The union also made a series of social media posts describing the screening as transphobic hate and encouraging protests. After a protest halted the first screening, the UCU Edinburgh branch president, Grant Buttars, published an article celebrating the “victory”. A second attempt to show the film was thwarted, but the screening went ahead in November 2023 when the university hired extra security. Women who wanted to use the toilet had to be “escorted” for their own safety, the tribunal was told. Union leaders will give evidence later. LGBT activists have previously suggested the film did not meet academic standards.](https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/392c1d89-b723-413a-8c4c-ce2b3befbd81_180x722.png)
Telegraph [1]
![Lecturer sues union over ban on screening her trans-critical film The Daily Telegraph2 Apr 2025By Telegraph Reporter A UNIVERSITY lecturer is suing her own union for stopping a transcritical film being shown to students. Dr Deirdre O’neill, a lecturer at Hertfordshire University, and Michael Wayne, a professor at Brunel University, were criticised by the University and College Union over their film, which argues against claims made by trans rights activists. A tribunal, which is being held remotely, heard that in November 2022, the pair released Adult Human Female, which examines claims made by trans rights activists that “trans women are women and should be treated as women in all legal and social contexts”. The UCU condemned the film as an attack on trans identity. Protesters, including some in balaclavas, twice blocked screenings at the University of Edinburgh and “hurled insults at those trying to attend”, documents presented to the tribunal said. The academics say the UCU’S public opposition to them amounted to unlawful discrimination on grounds of their gender-critical belief that there are only two sexes. When UCU’S Edinburgh branch became aware of a planned screening at the university in December 2022, a letter was sent to principal Peter Mathieson, demanding that the screening be halted, the tribunal heard. The union also launched a series of social media posts denouncing the screening, describing it as transphobic hate, and encouraging protests, the tribunal was told. On the day of the screening, protesters, including students, blocked the entrance to the venue as well as a back-up venue. Grant Buttars, the UCU Edinburgh branch president, later published an article describing the “victory” of having blocked the screening, the tribunal was told. When the screening was rearranged for April 2023, it was again blocked by protesters, who shouted insults at those trying to attend, the tribunal heard. The screening was eventually able to go ahead in November 2023, but Dr O’neill said the university had to bring in extra security for the event. Women who wanted to go to the toilet during the screening had to be “escorted by security” for their own safety, the tribunal heard. Defending the film, Dr O’neill told the tribunal it was “very important to hear both sides of the argument”. A lawyer representing the UCU questioned the academic on some of the opinions shared by contributors in the film. Dr O’neill continued: “The bar is so low now that any attempt to discuss (this area) and you get accused of being a transphobe.” The academic told the tribunal she wanted to start a discussion about the topic. “We wanted people to be able to come along and say ‘Actually, you’re not quite right there’,” she added. “There’s no hate in the film. Trans rights in some areas clash with female rights, we wanted to work out how we address that.” The tribunal continues. ♦ Trans activists are urging NHS staff to campaign against plans to protect women by collecting data on sex and not gender. They have posted on NHS England’s LGBT intranet to implore doctors and nurses to show their “allyship” by writing to their MP to oppose the proposed changes. Critics say allowing public bodies to remove sex from records compromises research and makes it difficult for researchers to spot trends in rape cases, medical trials or gender pay gaps. ‘The bar is so low now that any attempt to discuss [this area] and you get accused of being a transphobe’ Article Name:Lecturer sues union over ban on screening her trans-critical film Publication:The Daily Telegraph Author:By Telegraph Reporter Start Page:7 End Page:7](https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/ebff8391-e186-4b30-aaca-7015a46bf882_762x657.png)
Thursday Total: 5
The Times [1]
Daily Mail [3]
Telegraph [1]
Friday Total: 0
Saturday Total: 3
The Times [1]
Daily Mail [1]
Telegraph [1]
Sunday Total: 3
The Sunday Times [1]
![‘Holistic’ care not hormones for children’s gender treatment on NHS Ben Spencer - Science Editor Camilla Kingdon, a paediatrician, says the subject has been “toxic”. No new prescriptions for cross-sex hormones have been issued to children since the controversial Tavistock gender clinic in London was replaced a year ago, NHS leaders have said. The new NHS children’s gender service prioritises “holistic” care for children with gender dysphoria rather than fast-tracking them on to hormones, an accusation that was levelled at the Tavistock’s Gender Identity Development Service (Gids) before it closed in March last year. The service, which is running at Great Ormond Street in London, Alder Hey in Liverpool and Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, has also prescribed no new puberty blockers, which are banned until a clinical trial starts later this year, pending ethical approval. It marks a fundamental switch in approach to the treatment of children with gender dysphoria, with doctors slowing down the route to prescribing hormonal drugs. Between April 2018 and December 2022, a fifth of patients referred to Gids were put on puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones or both. A year ago, a review of the Tavistock service by the paediatrician Baroness Cass criticised the “greater readiness” to use hormones for gender dysphoria despite “remarkably weak evidence” for their use. Her report said: “Some practitioners abandoned normal clinical approaches to holistic assessment, which has meant that this group of young people have been exceptionalised compared to other young people with similarly complex presentations. They deserve very much better.” Cross-sex hormones induce physical changes to allow patients to develop bodily features that align with a different gender identity. Those born male take oestrogen to develop breasts and redistribute fat and muscle mass; those born female take testosterone to deepen the voice, increase muscle mass and develop facial and body hair. Children prescribed the drugs at the Tavistock are continuing to receive their prescriptions. James Palmer, NHS England’s national medical director for specialised services, stressed that the door for the new prescription of cross-sex hormones was still open. “There may be a circumstance where it is important for care,” he said. “The services need the option of taking someone into masculinising or feminising hormones, if that really is the most important thing to be done. But the services have not identified an individual yet for whom it would be a really important bit of their care pathway.” If doctors decide there is a case for hormones to be prescribed, the decision must be agreed by a national multidisciplinary team of experts, chaired by Camilla Kingdon, the former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. She said the new service was about more than hormones. “This is not just about endocrinology. It’s about a holistic assessment of a child or young person within the context of their family. “That means very detailed assessments looking at the child’s wider physical health, mental health, thinking about the child in the context of their school and so on. It involves psychologists, psychiatrists, paediatricians, clinical nurse specialists, speech therapists, occupational therapists.” Recruitment has begun to open a fourth gender centre at Addenbrooke’s in Cambridge, with eight planned across the country, each seeing 25 new child patients a month. Kingdon, who also chairs the provider network of new NHS gender clinics, said finding staff has been a struggle. “That’s due to the politicised and sometimes toxic nature of this topic,” she said. “It’s not necessarily the sort of environment that has people queueing up to work in it.” Palmer said a particular challenge had been navigating “a hugely divided lobby of stakeholders”, adding: “There’s the very liberal end of the spectrum that think [we should focus purely] on access to a transitional arrangement. At the other end, people say NHS resources should not be spent on this area at all.” Great Ormond Street and Alder Hey children’s gender services opened in June and Bristol started seeing patients in November. So far, 250 children have been seen, with a waiting list of 6,000 that is coming down after peaking in February. “When we started, we had some individuals waiting for more than six years to be seen,” Palmer said. “By the summer, if our maths is correct, no one will be waiting for more than four years to be seen, but it will take another three or four years to get to ... something much more manageable.”](https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/969444f9-6c7f-49e3-b31f-39ea39991083_491x864.png)
Mail on Sunday [1]
Sunday Telegraph [1]
![Schoolchildren being taught that Joan of Arc was non-binary Claim about medieval French heroine in English language anthology branded ‘insulting’ The Sunday Telegraph6 Apr 2025By Tim Sigsworth The claim that Joan of Arc, below, was non-binary, was made in the biography of drag queen Amrou al Kadhi, right JOAN OF ARC was non-binary, secondary school pupils are being taught. Lesson plans produced for English language students aged between 11 and 14 include the claim about the medieval French heroine. The Maid of Orleans is the patron saint of France and fought against the English during the Hundred Years’ War. The Who We Are anthology published by Collins, which is made up of “representative and inclusive contemporary texts”, makes the claim in a lesson plan about a drag queen’s biography. It reads: “Joan of Arc (1412-31) is today considered by some to have been non-binary.” The knight cropped her hair in the male fashion and wore men’s clothes, which formed part of the heresy case against her for which she was burned at the stake in 1431. But she never claimed to not be female and also did not adopt the non-binary gender identity, which only emerged in the late 20th century. Prof Robert Tombs, professor emeritus of French history at the University of Cambridge, branded the claim Joan of Arc was non-binary as “insulting”. “Joan of Arc fought as a woman and died as a woman,” he told The Sunday Telegraph. “To call her something else is insulting to her and indirectly to all women who are brave enough to risk their lives for their beliefs – as if women are incapable of heroism.” Carolyn Brown, a retired psychologist now working with the Women’s Rights Network, said: “This is yet another ridiculous example of attempting to rewrite history and erase strong, rebellious female characters from our past. “It’s insulting to suggest that non-conforming women are not women. Non-binary is a nonsense term – indeed the Supreme Court in the UK recently ruled against including it as an option on passports. “It’s also another example of the junk science of queer theory being visited on children. It’s unhelpful psychologically to children’s development and is likely to cause confusion and anxiety.” It is not the first time Joan of Arc has been dubbed non-binary. In 2022, the Globe Theatre put on the play I, Joan, which gave her the pronouns “they/ them” instead of “she/her”. The claim was made in the Collins anthology as part of a lesson plan designed around Life as a Unicorn – the biography of drag queen Amrou al-Kadhi. The plan reads: “To provide some useful context, teachers may explain to students that there are references to non-binary people in ancient Mesopotamia (4,000 years ago); that in India and Pakistan, ‘hijra’ is a legally recognised third gender (hijra are usually assigned male at birth but present female); and that Joan of Arc (1412-31) is today considered by some to have been non-binary. “These historical and global references may prepare students unfamiliar with LGBTQ+ identities to understand the content of the extract”. One teacher said the lesson plan – used by state schools – made “an absolute mockery of the profession”. “In schools today there is simply far too much identity-first woke reading materials being foisted on pupils at the expense of established classics like [To Kill a] Mockingbird or Of Mice and Men. We should also not lose sight of the fact that there are cohorts of teenagers vulnerable to reality-denying nonsense like this when it is presented earnestly.” Collins was approached for comment. Article Name:Schoolchildren being taught that Joan of Arc was non-binary Publication:The Sunday Telegraph Author:By Tim Sigsworth Start Page:5 End Page:5](https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/5afdc3ea-cdc7-4c23-8d3c-06c8efa29340_757x692.png)
TRANSWRITES YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED
Judge Tinnion should be ashamed of allowing tribunal to become a circus of harassment, by Gemma Stone
Calls for boycott as Oxford Literary Festival continually promotes bigotry, by Gemma Stone
My doctor emailed me back, by Abigail Thorn
The Rainbow Laces campaign isn’t enough, by Arthur Webber
How Erika Hilton – a Black travesti trans woman – is changing Brasil, by Lis Welch
When was the T added to LGBT? A quick history, by Sarah Clarke
Trans people are the greatest assault on women in JK Rowling’s life time, apparently, by Gemma Stone
NHS & puberty blockers: Former GIDS patients reflect on long wait times, invasive assessments, by Sasha Baker.
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