UK’s human rights watchdog accused of ‘bullying’ government over trans single-sex spaces guidance

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has been accused by a House of Lords peer of “bullying” the government into publishing its updated single-sex spaces guidance.

Following the UK Supreme Court’s verdict in April in the case of For Women Scotland vs Scottish Ministers – which decided the 2010 Equality Act’s definition of a woman is based on biological sex only – the EHRC swiftly published widely-criticised interim guidance that recommended service providers bar trans men and women from single-sex services and facilities that align with their gender, adding in “some circumstances” trans people can also be barred from spaces based on “biological sex”.

After the interim guidance was published, the watchdog launched a consultation period on updating its Code of Practice to reflect the Supreme Court ruling, which was subsequently extended from two weeks to six after pressure from the Women and Equalities Committee and trans groups who criticised the limitations of the original time frame.

At the beginning of September, the EHRC announced it had sent a finished version of the Code to the equalities minister – and favourite to become Labour’s deputy leader – Bridget Phillipson. A leak published in The Times suggested the finalised guidance, much like its interim version, would urge service providers to ban trans people from single-sex spaces.

Six weeks on from its submission to the government, the final version has not been made public.

The EHRC has come under intense scrutiny for its trans rights policies. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

During a debate in the House of Lords on Wednesday (15 October), Labour peer Baroness Thornton said Keir Starmer’s Labour government should not rush out the guidance “through being bullied by the EHRC”.

She said: “My Lords, can my noble friend the Minister confirm that six weeks, which included the summer, is actually not a very long time?

“Does he agree that the crucial matter here is to ensure that the guidance is right, respects the dignity and rights of individuals and groups, places an equality duty on public bodies and businesses, in scope with our legislation, and ensures that legal challenges are avoided by not rushing into this matter through being bullied by the EHRC, editorials in the Times, and others?”

In response, Lord Collins of Highbury – who was appointed as a government spokesperson for Equalities back in October 2024 – replied: “My noble friend is right. As the chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, who is in her place, acknowledges in her letter, it is important that the Secretary of State can take a fully informed decision.

“That is also why, although the letter was received today, officials have approached the Equality and Human Rights Commission, requesting additional material that needs to be reviewed as part of giving a thorough consideration of the code.

“It was acknowledged in today’s letter that the request for additional information is necessary. Obviously, we have not received this information from the EHRC.”

In response to a request for comment by PinkNews in regards to Baroness Thornton’s claim of the government “being bullied”, a spokesperson for the Equality and Human Rights Commission said: “We submitted our updated draft services code of practice to the Minister for Women and Equalities for approval over a month ago. It is up to the government to lay it before Parliament.

“We know there is high demand among duty-bearers the length and breadth of this country. Which is why the UK government asked us to deliver revised guidance without delay, following the Supreme Court’s judgment on the definition of sex. We worked at pace to update our code of practice to accurately reflect the judgment, ensuring it is as clear as possible to those who will use it.

“The next steps in the updated code becoming statutory guidance are now in the government’s hands. We urge them to act at speed.”

The letter Lord Collins referenced was penned by EHRC chairwoman Baroness Kishwer Falkner to equalities minister Phillipson, and also published on Wednesday, and urged the government to speed up its timeline and wrote the updated draft code should “be brought into force as soon as possible”.

“This is particularly urgent considering the spread of misinformation and misleading information on the law following the Supreme Court judgment which continues to circulate widely,” Baroness Falkner added.

Trans rights demonstrators gather outside the Equalities and Human Rights Commission on May 02, 2025 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

This itself came just a day after the EHRC removed its interim guidance from its website, a decision which Good Law Project’s executive director, Jo Maugham, said came little too late for many impacted trans folks.

“I’ve spent six months talking to trans people who are afraid to go out because of the climate of fear the EHRC’s interim guidance created,” Maugham said.

“Some are suicidal – and I am aware of people who have sought to take their own lives. The EHRC has finally taken it down – and my question to them is: if the High Court finds the guidance unlawful, will you apologise to those whose lives you have so profoundly harmed?”

On Tuesday (14 October) the Council of Europe’s commissioner on human rights, Michael O’Flaherty, wrote a letter to Women and Equalities Committee chair Sarah Owen in which he warned the UK is at risk of infringing on trans people’s human rights if the if new guidance does not limit trans exclusion to “situations in which this would be strictly necessary and proportionate”.

On his previous visit to the UK, O’Flaherty said he observed a “tendency to see the human rights of different groups as a zero-sum game” and has “has contributed to narratives which build on prejudice against trans people and portray upholding their human rights as a de facto threat to the rights of others”.

“Such a zero-sum approach risks certain inferences being drawn from the UK Supreme Court judgment that could lead to widespread exclusion of trans people from many public spaces,” he said.

“This, in turn, may severely infringe on their ability to participate fully and equally in society. This is particularly the case, as discussions about how access to services and facilities will have to be regulated following the judgment have tended towards the exclusion of trans people.

“It would therefore be crucial for all stakeholders to receive clear guidance on how inclusion of trans people can be achieved across all areas, and how exclusion can be minimised to situations in which this would be strictly necessary and proportionate, in line with well established human rights principles.”

“Half-baked nonsense”

Following the accusations in the Lords and the withdrawal of the interim guidance, Trans+ Solidarity Alliance spokesperson Alex Parmar-Yee said: “The EHRC are tying themselves in knots trying to force this through, behaving more like activists than civil servants.

“This is bizarre behaviour by a supposedly impartial public institution. The minister cannot let herself get played by a body that is clearly pushing an agenda, knowing their harmful and unworkable proposals don’t stand up to close inspection.”

Trans rights demonstrators gather outside the Equalities and Human Rights Commission on May 02, 2025 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Getty)

“Withdrawing their damaging interim advice just before having to defend it in court, while publicly hitting out at a government minister for not immediately rubber stamping their draft formal code, is pure desperation to avoid scrutiny,” she continued.

“Pressure is building on Bridget Phillipson to do the right thing and send this half-baked nonsense back to the EHRC, telling them to try again and give clarity for service providers on how to include trans people in their lived gender – not mandating blanket exclusion. 

“Between the dramatic intervention of Europe’s human rights watchdog, hundreds of businesses telling the government not to approve this, and over 4,000 trans people and allies writing to their MPs since Monday – it is becoming increasingly clear that the guidance is not fit for purpose.

“Bridget Phillipson has a decision to make: will she ensure new guidance is right, workable and lawful – or allow herself to be bullied by the EHRC.”

Since Monday, according to TransActual, more than 5,000 letters have been sent to MPs urging them to ‘scrap the bathroom ban’.

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