Gender-critical women banned from city council over ‘unacceptable behaviour’ launch legal action

Two gender-critical women who were barred from Bristol City Council’s chamber following a debate over trans rights have threatened legal action against the council, saying they feel “picked on” for their beliefs.

Wendy Stephenson, chair of the council’s independent remuneration panel, and Phoebe Beedell, a retired academic researcher – who are both members of the Women of Wessex gender-critical group – have been excluded from attending any council meetings for at least six months.

Their ban comes after the council said the women engaged in “unacceptable behaviour” and acted “in a way that they found intimidating” during a council meeting on 4 November. The meeting focused on the Supreme Court’s April 2025 ruling on the legal definition of the protected characteristic of ‘sex’, which the court ruled is based on biology and excludes trans people.

During the meeting, as quoted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Stephenson said: “People with ovaries are women, people who give birth are women, people who need maternity services are women.”

Beedell in turn asked council leader Tony Dyer if Green councillors – who previously staged a mass walk out at a full council meeting in September when gender-critical questions were asked – would listen with “respect, attention and tolerance to the lawfully expressed views of people they disagree with, including questions and statements from women who have concerns about the erosion and disregard of their hard-won, sex-based rights?”

In response, Dyer said in a pre-written statement: “Whilst gender critical beliefs are protected under the Equality Act 2010 as a philosophical belief, this does not mean that other people must remain in a space where they feel offended or distressed by those views.”

Beedell then asked if Dyer approved or disapproved of the “intimidating placards that are being held by councillors” at the meeting, which included signs that read “Protect The Dolls” and “Trans Men Are Men”.

Dyer replied that everyone has the right to make their own statements and he, personally, does not find the Pride flag offensive.

The women have now threatened legal action against the council for their ban and have sent a judicial review pre-action protocol letter to the council.

“The legal challenge has been threatened on the grounds that the Council has conducted itself unlawfully and has discriminated against members of the public whose views it cannot tolerate,” the Women of Wessex group stated on X.

“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,” Beedell told The Times.

“The council must put the interests of all Bristolians first and not waste taxpayers’ money on fighting ordinary women like me purely on the grounds that we recognise there are only two sexes, male and female.

“We must be able to talk about whether the council is following the law on this. If we can’t do that in a place dedicated to democratic discussion, then where can we?”

Stephenson said the ban has left her feeling “upset, humiliated and rendered powerless by the council’s actions”, saying: “Our voices are being silenced.

“If this is how councillors behave in public, I fear for any council worker who knows that sex is real and cannot be changed by feelings.”

“I’ve now steeled myself to listening to these people”

Commenting on the matter, trans councillor Kaz Self said it has been “difficult” to listen to multiple questions focused on the Supreme Court ruling and trans rights, and added the Greens walk out had “made the issue worse” by making the matter more prominent.

“As a politician I think we do need to be able to listen to opinions, even opinions that we don’t agree with, so I’ve now steeled myself to listening to these people and just getting through it,” Self said.