'Disgraceful!' Fury as women who won Supreme Court gender battle face death threats

It is "disgraceful" that campaigners who won a landmark Supreme Court gender ruling are facing death threats, MPs warned. The UK's highest court last week confirmed that the definition of a woman in equality law is based on biological sex in a victory for campaign group For Women Scotland.

But the three women who spearheaded the legal battle have been hit by a deluge of abuse in the wake of the decision. Tory shadow women's minister Mims Davies said: “The brave women behind For Women Scotland won a landmark victory in the Supreme Court.

“But instead of being celebrated, they’ve been met with death threats, vile misogynistic abuse, and appalling attacks on their livelihoods. This is an absolute disgrace. No woman should face hatred for defending our sex-based rights.

“The Labour government must get a grip and act to protect their safety, their voices, and defend their right to speak without fear.”

Reform UK MP Lee Anderson said it was "disgraceful that these brave women are facing death threats after securing a victory for common sense and women’s rights".

He said: “The Supreme Court ruling was clear and should now be accepted by all. I commend these brave women who fought against SNP lunacy to restore a bit of common sense to the country.”

Independent MP Rosie Duffield, who has previously faced death threats for her stance on sex and gender, said: "We would not accept, or turn a blind eye to threats of violence, aggression, rape or murder if they were aimed at any other group of people.

"Yet women who campaign for our sex-based rights, in accordance with UK law, are used to facing this on a daily basis. Writers, activist groups, women at work, outspoken women in the public eye have all been threatened by men who refuse to hear 'No', even from the highest court in the land.

"It's time the police, the Home Office took our rights and safety as seriously as those making threats against us."

For Women Scotland has not yet reported the death threats to Police Scotland, who would need this to investigate.

Fiona McAnena, director of campaigns at the gender-critical Sex Matters group, added: "If any more proof were needed that trans demands are a threat to women’s rights, here it is.

"The brave women of For Women Scotland are getting abuse from trans activists because they have won legal recognition that women’s spaces and services must exclude everyone male. Politicians should take notice of this."

An email sent to the campaign group said: “You’re a group of disgusting murderers and deserve death. God will rip you from your family one day and nobody will mourn you.”

Another read: “Your inhumanity makes me vomit. You stupid women should feel deeply ashamed for being so stupid.”

Marion Calder, one of the three campaigners, said that the majority of the threatening messages were from men.

But she insisted most of the correspondence was positive and that she would not be put off from speaking out on the controversial issue.

She said: "The vast majority of contact is 99.9% positive, it's that tiny percentage. And we can barely catch up with our emails they're that big. So the kindness is huge and we're getting from around the world this massive support.

"We're just ordinary members of the public, we aren't celebrities, we're not famous, we don't have security, we're just ordinary women.

"We are so battle worn that this doesn't faze us. It makes you stop and think, but it won't stop us going out and about with our normal lives and it certainly won't stop us speaking out. If anything it just gives us more fuel to go on."

In a long-awaited judgment delivered last Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled that the terms "woman" and "sex" in the 2010 Equality Act "refer to a biological woman and biological sex".

It means trans women cannot use single-sex female toilets, changing rooms or compete in women's sports, according to the head of Britain's equalities watchdog.

The Government said the unanimous decision by five judges brought "clarity and confidence" for women and service providers.

But it has sparked a backlash from trans rights protesters who marched through central London on Saturday.

A number of statues in Parliament Square were defaced with graffiti during the rally, with "fag rights" and a heart painted on the banner held by suffragette Millicent Fawcett.

"Trans rights are human rights" was also sprayed on the pedestal bearing a memorial to South African military leader and statesman Jan Christian Smuts.

The Met Police are hunting for the demonstrators who vandalised the monuments and appealed for anyone with information to come forward.

Tory shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick hit out at the "brazen criminal damage".

He said: "The law must be enforced equally. Why have there been no arrests or charges for brazen criminal damage? Until there is proper punishment for criminality like this, people will continue to do it knowing they can get off scot-free."

Maya Forstater, CEO of Sex Matters, said: "Yet again the trans rights activists show us who they are. This is not a peaceful request for the right of a marginalised group to live quietly and with dignity, it’s a violent anti-women mob.

"They’ve defaced the statue of Millicent Fawcett, who represents women’s suffrage, to make their point that they will not respect women’s boundaries, even when the law requires it.

"Once again they prove why women need male-free spaces and services - to keep men like this out."

It came as Sir Keir Starmer was under pressure today over ministers accused of plotting to defy the ruling that trans women are not legally women.

In leaked messages from a WhatsApp group of LGBT+ Labour MPs, Home Office minister Dame Angela Eagle suggested a meeting after Easter recess to "decide a way forwards" and "organise".

Labour MP Steve Race branded comments by Equality and Human Rights Commission chairwoman Baroness Kishwer Falkner as “pretty appalling".

Culture minister Sir Chris Bryant wrote in response: "Agreeed [sic]."

Earlier that day, Baroness Falkner said the court ruling means trans women cannot use single-sex female toilets, changing rooms or compete in women's sports.

Downing Street said that no action would be taken against the two ministers and denied they were trying to undermine the Supreme Court judgement.

Meanwhile, Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan lashed out at JK Rowling after she celebrated the victory.

The Harry Potter author, who is a vocal campaigner for women's rights, posted a picture on social media platform X smoking a cigar and holding up a drink.

The 38-year-old actress shared a post on Instagram linking to an article with the headline: “This is a new low for JK Rowling.”

In reference to HBO's new Harry Potter TV series, she added: “Keep your new Harry Potter lads. Wouldn’t touch it with a 10-foot pole.”

Campaigners for women's rights yesterday insisted they would carry on fighting if public bodies and sporting organisations refused to abide by the law.

Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Sharron Davies told the Daily Express: "I’m going to do everything in my power to make non-government bodies abide by the law – which actually has never changed since 2010, but was clarified only on Wednesday, to give women and girls back their sport – including litigation if necessary.

"The trans overreach which has encroached on women’s rights, privacy and sporting opportunities has got to stop. And I’m highly disappointed in sports bodies that so quickly threw their athletes under the trans activists' bus… against the science, increasing injury risk and removing their fair sports."