Council threatened with judicial review challenge after banning gender-critical group members from meetings

The city council banned Dr Phoebe Beedell and Wendy Stephenson, who are members of Women of Wessex (WoW), after they raised questions about the local authority's trans inclusion policy at a council meeting last month.

In a public statement during the meeting, Stephenson criticised the council's policy, claiming it "erases" women. Two other WoW members spoke at the meeting, including Dr Beedell.

Some councillors in the chamber held up pro-trans placards in response to the questions, while other councillors left the chamber in protest.

Alongside the six-month ban, Stephenson was also terminated from her role on the council's independent remuneration panel.

According to Beedell and Stephenson's legal team, the council claims that the pair's behaviour in asking questions of the council and of individual council members after the meeting was intimidating, offensive and not respectful of others.

However, Women of Wessex has issued a pre-action protocol letter contending that the council conducted itself unlawfully and has discriminated against members of the public whose views it cannot tolerate.

The letter argues that the ban undermines the principles of natural justice as it failed to provide Dr Beedell with an opportunity to make representations and failed to provide sufficient details.

A second ground argues that the decision breached the claimants' Article 10 and 11 rights under the European Convention on Human Rights, and is inconsistent with the council's constitution.

It contends that the claimants' Articles 10 and 11 rights were violated because the ban interferes with their ability to express their views directly to democratically elected members on a matter of significant public interest.

According to the claim, such interference was unlawful because it was contrary to natural law and "the only apparent aim of imposing the bans is the suppression of gender critical views, which is not a legitimate aim, particularly since these views are largely in line with the recent Supreme Court decision in For Women Scotland".

In addition, the group argue that the council's decision to terminate Stephenson's position on the council's independent remuneration committee was procedurally unfair as she had no opportunity to make representations.

This part of the claim also claims that the termination was based on a material error of fact, as the council's claim that Stephenson confronted two councillors on 4 November was incorrect.

Dr Phoebe Beedell, a retired academic who spent most of her career at Bristol University and UWE Bristol, said: "To be banned from City Hall with no warning and no chance to defend myself is even more of a shock than the childish and undemocratic behaviour of the councillors in the meetings."

James Gardner, partner at Conrathe Gardner LLP, acting for the claimants, said: "Our clients have views, which, although lawful and in line with most of the British public, appear to differ from those held by the majority of Green Party councillors.

"Do these elected men and women have no ability to listen calmly to opinions they disagree with or engage in thoughtful debate? The council's conduct breaches its own Code of Conduct and its own constitution: it's not only shocking but also clearly unlawful."

A Bristol City Council spokesperson said: "Anyone holding a position of authority in our city is rightly expected to uphold the highest standards of behaviour. On two occasions during recent meetings of Full Council, the behaviour of the former Chair and Panel Member of the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) towards councillors fell below these standards."

The spokesperson added that the council encourages individuals and groups to express their views on matters in public meetings and support democratic processes for doing so in multiple formats, but it insists that "people do so respectfully".

They said: "In falling below these standards of behaviour, it has been decided that the position of the former Chair and Panel member of the IRP has become untenable and the monitoring officer has taken the decision to remove them from this position with immediate effect.”

The council said it would not comment on the potential legal action.

Adam Carey