Christian woman threatens legal action over trans crossings she claims ‘marginalises’ her

A Christian woman from London is threatening to sue Camden Council over zebra crossings which were painted in the colour of the trans flag four years ago.

The north London authority unveiled the pink, white and blue four-way crossing at the junction of Tavistock Place and Marchmont Street in November 2021 to mark Transgender Awareness Week 2021 but also serve as a reminder of LGBTQ+ history in the area.

The crossings reportedly cost £10,464 and are located near the site of the now-closed Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, which provided youth gender services.

At the time councillor Abdul Hai, cabinet member for young people, equalities and cohesion, said the crossings are “not only an impressive visual statement to help celebrate transgender awareness, but also act as a reminder of the rich LGBT+ history and daily life currently in the Bloomsbury area and across Camden”.

Nearly four years on, evangelical Christian Blessing Olubanjo, 57, is threatening legal action against the council, saying the crossings constitute unlawful political messaging and infringe on her rights as a Christian.

Olubanjo, a member of the Christian Peoples’ Alliance Party and supported in her legal case by Christian Legal Centre, said: “I brought this case because I believe in fairness, freedom of belief, and the proper role of public institutions.

“As a Christian and a taxpayer, I should not be made to feel excluded or marginalised by political symbols in public spaces.

“This crossing sends a message that only one viewpoint is welcome, and that’s not right in a truly democratic society.

“I’m standing up not just for myself, but for everyone who feels silenced or sidelined by discredited harmful activism forced on the public by ideologically captured local authorities.”

Christian Concern allege in a press release about the case that the crossings were installed to honour the Tavistock Centre. However, a press officer for the council told MailOnline in 2021 the location of the crossing was not related to the location of the youth gender centre.

Olubanjo argues the crossings breach Section 2 of the Local Government Act 1986, which “prohibits councils from publishing material that appears to promote a political party or a politically controversial viewpoint”. She and her legal team claim the crossings are a ‘publication’ under the Act.

Olubanjo’s legal case also sets out that the crossing’s installation constitutes a violation of political neutrality laws under the Local Government Act 1986, as well as an infringement of freedom of belief and expression under the Human Rights Act 1998.

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said of the case: “Not only is this crossing a matter of public safety and Christian freedom, it’s about the misuse of public resources for political campaigning.

“The crossing is a visual endorsement of a contested ideology, installed by a public authority in breach of its legal duties.

“This is not the role of local government.”

Williams said ublic spaces should be “able to be used by everyone” and not “advance divisive agendas that alienate people of faith and those who hold to biological reality”.

“The Cass Review could not have been clearer on how damaging the activity was at the Tavistock clinic for vulnerable children,” the chief executive said. “This was not something to celebrate or ‘honour’ then, and after all the scandals, it definitely is not now.

“The Council needs to remove the remove or redesign the crossing and apologise to its residents and local businesses.

“We stand with Blessing in her courageous legal challenge to uphold freedom of belief, political neutrality, and the proper use of public funds.”

This is not the first time crossing’s painted to represent the LGBTQ+ community have faced backlash.

In 2023, Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne claimed a rainbow crossing unveiled in Chiswick by Hounslow London Borough Council, which features the colours of the Progress Pride flag, will “cause migraines and trigger epilepsy”.

Rainbow Junction, located at the junction of Chiswick High Road where it meets Annandale Road and Turnham Green Terrace, was opened to coincide with the start of both LGBT+ History month and Football vs Homophobia month of action. 

The unelected Tory peer, who has a long history of being outspoken against LGBTQ+ rights – including voting against same-sex marriage and repealing Section 28 – said the crossing would “inevitably” cause adverse physical reactions.

However, senior GP headache specialist Dr Katy Munro – who at the time lead migraine clinics for the National Migraine Centre and is the author of the bestseller Managing Your Migraine – told PinkNews: “Those with migraine can be sensitive to high contrast stripes, but a regular black and white zebra crossing is probably more likely to be a trigger than a multicoloured crossing.”

The team at epilespy charity Epilepsy Action also told PinkNews that three in 100 people with epilepsy have photosensitive epilepsy. Within this group, some people find they are affected by “high-contrasting striped patterns” which “can be a trigger for their seizures”.

A spokesperson for the charity similarly pointed out standard zebra crossings “use high-contrasting black and white striped patterns”, although the charity is not aware of any cases of these triggering a seizure.

“We are also not aware of any cases where pride flags/stripes have caused a problem for people with photosensitive epilepsy,” they added.