Children being ‘used as guinea pigs’ in puberty blockers experiment
Emily Pollok
Date posted: 23 Jan 2026
Health Secretary Wes Streeting is allowing a trial of puberty blockers for children to go ahead despite confessing to being “uncomfortable” about the risks involved and receiving strong and widespread opposition.
The Pathways trial, recommended by the Cass Review (which examined NHS gender identity services for children and young people) was set to start in January. Concerns regarding the impact of the drugs include issues related to brain development, fertility, and bone density, as well as the subject of whether young children are capable of giving consent.
NHS trust 'violated dignity' of Darlington nurses
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 16 Jan 2026
A group of Darlington nurses had their dignity "violated" by an NHS trust, a tribunal said today.
Newcastle Employment Tribunal said that "complaints of indirect sex discrimination" against County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust "are well founded and succeed" after the nurses were required to share a female-only changing room with a biological male who identifies as a woman.
Girlguiding drops 'trans-inclusive' policy
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 20 Dec 2025
Girlguiding has dropped its trans-inclusive policy and only biological girls will be entitled to join the guides in future. It announced that it has updated its equality and diversity policy following the recent Supreme Court ruling that girls and women are defined in the Equality Act 2010 by their biological sex.
A joint statement from the trustees, CEO and Chief Guide said it was a “difficult decision” made with “a heavy heart” and that they are now looking at how the change affects existing members.
Landmark win for Darlington Nurses
en staff
Date posted: 19 Jun 2025
Eight pioneering nurses who formed their own union to defend the rights of women “have won a landmark battle for a female-only changing room,” website dailymail.co.uk reports.
“The Darlington nurses launched a legal action saying transgender policies put them at risk, deprived them of dignity and breached their human rights,” according to the Daily Mail.
Seven-year Bernard Randall case ends in settlement
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 9 Jul 2026
Evangelicals are celebrating after it was today announced that Church of England (CofE) chaplain Bernard Randall's seven-year ordeal has reached a settlement.
In 2019, Randall was referred to Prevent (the UK's counter-radicalisation programme, part of the Government's wider counterterrorism strategy), treated as a safeguarding risk, and effectively shut out of ministry for preaching a sermon rooted in CofE doctrine.
Scotland & Wales: Dr Q & LGBTQI+ pose challenges
Emily Pollok
Date posted: 21 May 2026
Scotland and Wales have elected their newest parliamentary representatives, which could pose some concerns for evangelical Christians in each country, says The Christian Institute.
Scotland saw the Scottish National Party (SNP) get the most votes for the fifth time, along with the most seats in parliament, although less than the last election. Labour and Reform UK came in joint second, with Reform making strides since the last election and winning its first seats in Holyrood.
Q’s conversion ban bid
Emily Pollok
Date posted: 29 Jun 2026
Q Manivannan, one of the first transgender MSPs to be elected to the Scottish Parliament, has put forward a motion in Holyrood calling for a ban on “conversion practices”.
“Legislation in this area is not about outlawing genuine abuse – since that is already illegal,” said Joanna Timm, Senior Public Affairs Office at the Christian Institute.
Top scientist axed over gender views
Emily Pollok
Date posted: 24 Mar 2026
A top scientific officer whose concerns about puberty blockers led to the pausing of a national trial has now been removed from involvement with it due to concerns about his “gender-critical” views.
Professor Jacob George was appointed as the first Chief Medical and Scientific Officer for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) late last year.
Christian nurse in fresh transgender battle
Christian Concern
Date posted: 24 Mar 2025
A senior Christian nurse is launching a case against a hospital trust in a row over a transgender patient.
Jennifer Melle, 40, from Croydon, is taking action against Epsom and St Helier University Hospital Trust, claiming harassment, discrimination and human rights’ breaches.
news in brief
‘Turn the Battle’
A number of Christian organisations in the UK have been seeking to mobilise people to pray and fast for three days.
The “Turn the Battle” campaign has been aiming to see “the whole body humbling itself under God’s mighty hand and a committing to three days of contending prayer and fasting” from 21 to 23 January.
Puberty blockers trial challenged
Emily Pollok
Date posted: 22 Feb 2026
A group of concerned parties are pursuing legal proceedings in the High Court to stop a trial of puberty blockers for children from going ahead.
The trial, which is costing the taxpayer £11 million, should never have been approved and comprises government-funded experimentation on young children, the claimants say.
news in brief
400 women gather
The Norfolk Gospel Partnership Women’s Conference 2026 saw 400 women from across the region gather together for a day of worship, inspirational Bible teaching and encouragement.
Women from more than 75 different churches attended and this year’s theme was “Greater – running the race because of Jesus”. The speaker was Lizzy Smallwood.
Nurses take legal action over 'horrifying' trans changing room issue
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 19 Jul 2024
Eight female nurses who had to share a hospital changing room with a pre-operative trans-identified biologically male nurse are taking legal action against the NHS Trust.
The nurses are part of a group of 26 nurses who wrote to County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust with their complaints in March. They originally raised concerns last summer but the nurses said they were told by HR to ‘broaden their mindset’ and be more ‘inclusive’.
news in brief
Employment tribunal won
A scientist who resigned after expressing gender-critical views has won his employment tribunal case.
Peter Wilkins, a Christian, had worked at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory for nearly 15 years before leaving in 2023. He had raised concerns over abusive descriptions of employees that had gender-critical beliefs. The tribunal found there had been “a failure to engage” with the idea that gender-critical views are “worthy and required to be respected”.
Christian loses unfair dismissal appeal
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 16 Apr 2025
A secondary school teacher who told year 7 pupils at a Church of England school that being LGBTQ+ was a sin and is “not fine”, and that transgender people are “just confused”, has lost her appeal against dismissal.
Glawdys Leger, a Christian, lost her teaching job after 12 years at Bishop Justus Church of England School, Bromley in May 2022 after a pupil’s mother complained about “very distressing” comments she allegedly made in class. The pupil was “exploring” who she was.
Kristie Higgs wins groundbreaking court case after unfair dismissal
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 12 Feb 2025
A Christian was unlawfully dismissed from her role as a school pastoral worker after she criticised LGBT relationship education on her social media, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
Lord Justice Underhill made clear that dismissal merely because the employee ‘expressed a religious or other protected belief to which the employer, or a third party with whom it wishes to protect its reputation, objects will constitute unlawful direct discrimination within the meaning of the Equality Act’.
Civil servants sued for saying sex is binary
Emily Pollok
Date posted: 18 Nov 2024
Two civil servants for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) are facing legal action over allegations of discrimination against transgender people.
A colleague of Andreas Meuller and Elspeth Drummer-Wrigley, who currently remains anonymous, thinks the pair should be reprimanded for their view that transgender people can’t change their sex, The Telegraph reported. Mueller and Drummer-Wrigley are co-chairs of the Sex Equality and Equity Network (SEEN), a department of Defra the claimant is now calling to be shut down.
Relief as new transgender guidance released for schools
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 1 Feb 2024
The draft transgender guidance for schools has been published, clarifying that schools are not required to accept a child’s request to socially transition; and parents will generally have a right to know if their child has made a request.
Minister for women and equalities, Kemi Badenoch, said the guidance is intended to give schools ‘greater confidence when dealing with an issue that has been hijacked by activists misrepresenting the law’.
Sutcliffe appeal lost
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 27 Aug 2024
Maths teacher Joshua Sutcliffe has lost his appeal against a ruling banning him indefinitely from teaching.
Sutcliffe was dismissed after deliberately failing to use a pupil’s preferred pronouns in the classroom and on TV. He had also shared with pupils his views about gay marriage and homosexuality.
School transgender policy is delayed
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 1 Sep 2023
Government guidance on transgender policies in England schools has been delayed, despite it being promised before the start of the school summer holiday.
However, the equalities minister recently indicated that the guidance will require teachers to inform parents if a child questions their gender. Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg on 16 July, Kemi Badenoch said the guidance will ensure parents know what is ‘going on with their children’ in school.
news in brief
The Goodness of God
The songs Goodness of God, 10,000 Reasons and In Christ Alone have topped a new list of favourite contemporary worship songs.
CCLI (Christian Copyright Licensing International), has published a roundup of the latest favourites among UK churches who are licensed with the organisation. The top ten also includes How Great Is Our God (4), What a Beautiful Name (5), O Praise The Name (Anástasis) (6), Here I Am To Worship (7) and Cornerstone (8). Other favourites making the list include How Deep The Father’s Love For Us at number 20, Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) (22), The Servant King (37), There Is A Redeemer (46), Come People Of the Risen King (50) and The Power Of The Cross (94). The list does not include classic Christian hymns as they are already in the public domain and not within CCLI’s remit.
Trans review welcome
Iain Taylor
Date posted: 1 May 2024
The Christian Medical Fellowship (CMF) says it is ‘hugely encouraged’ by The Cass Review into gender identity services for under-18s.
Author and renowned paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass writes in the review that children have been let down by a lack of research and ‘remarkably weak’ evidence on medical interventions in gender care.
‘Disastrously bad’ messaging, but Christians are protected
Luke Randall
Date posted: 1 May 2024
Messaging from the Scottish Government and Police Scotland concerning the recently implemented Hate Crime and Public Order Act has been ‘disastrously bad,’ but Christian views are protected, according to Christian Institute Deputy Director Simon Calvert.
He stressed that while there are problems with the law, such as the inclusion of ‘stirring up hatred’ offences covering contested areas such as religion and sexuality, Christian views are protected.
news in brief
Felix Ngole
Felix Ngole is taking legal action against a health and wellbeing charity after claiming his job offer as a mental health support worker was withdrawn after discovering his Christian beliefs on marriage.
With the support of the Christian Legal Centre, Ngole is suing Touchstone Support Leeds for religious discrimination. The case was being heard at an employment tribunal in Leeds at the start of April. A ruling has yet to be handed down. In 2019, the Court of Appeal allowed Ngole’s appeal against a ruling that his removal from a university social work course was lawful, after comments made on social media in support of traditional Biblical teaching on marriage.