Trans teacher followed home by right-wing mouthpiece Tommy Robinson

A teacher was approached at their home by right-wing activist Tommy Robinson after parents complained about them allegedly requesting to use the gender-neutral title ‘Mx’.

The teacher, who PinkNews is choosing not to name publicly, works at school in South Staffordshire.

Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, produced a 12 minute long video showcasing him outside the academy ahead of the start of the school day before going to the teacher’s home address to question them.

An anti-immigration activist and self-styled journalist who was jailed for 18 months in October 2024 for contempt of court, Robinson detailed that he had hired a private investigator to track the teacher’s movements, so he would know when they would be leaving home for work in order to confront them.

In the video, Robinson opened by claiming the UK education system is “indoctrinating” children with “LGBTQ+ values” and labelled it an “ideology”.

He went on to say he had been contacted by several parents who complained the teacher had asked to be referred to “by the pronouns Mx” and alleged pupils were being punished for misgendering the teacher and removed from lesson to be taught about pronouns.

The school has asserted the claims about pupils being removed from lessons are “wholly inaccurate” and the “scenarios described online do not reflect actual events at our school”.

It must be noted, ‘Mx’ – pronounced as ‘mix’ – is a honourific title and not a set of pronouns, where it is used by some trans, non-binary, gender non-confirming as well as non-trans people as an alternative to honourifics like Miss, Ms, Mrs or Mr. Some people use it because it is a gender-neutral title whilst others use it as it does not base someone’s title on whether they are married or not, as Mrs and Miss do.

When Robinson confronts the teacher outside their home he persists in asking them if it is “right” for pupils to address them by Mx. The teacher made clear they did not wish to speak with Robinson – repeatedly saying “no comment” – and wished to go to work but the right-wing activist proceeded to follow them up and down the road, eventually resulting in the teacher returning to their home and shutting the door.

Under journalism ethnical guidelines on harassment issued by both the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) and IMPRESS, journalists must not persist in engaging with a person once asked to desist.

IPSO states journalists “must not persist in questioning, telephoning, pursuing or photographing individuals once asked to desist; nor remain on property when asked to leave and must not follow them”, while IMPRESS outlines journalists should “comply immediately with any reasonable request to desist from contacting, following, communicating with or photographing a person”.

Robinson, who continued to film and attempt to interview the teacher in spite of their refusal to engage and followed them back onto their property, did not follow this ethical guideline.

Following Robinson’s video, the MP for the area – former Tory education secretary Gavin Williamson – publicly shared a letter he had addressed to the headteacher of the school in which he “express [his] concern” about the matter.

In the letter, Williamson reiterated the claim that the school had “taken steps to remove children from educational classes in order to ‘teach pronouns’”.

“A vast number of constituents have been in touch to share their anger at this decision,” Willimson said in the letter. “Whilst I understand that it is important to be aware of sensitivities such as this, I strongly believe a school’s main priority should be academic rather than ‘diversity box ticking’ exercises.

“Parents have also reported to me that they are being denied the opportunity to speak with you regarding this and that reception are fielding complaints instead. With the significant public interest in this matter, I believe that parents should be able to speak directly with you and have confidence that the school’s leadership has the best interests of their children at heart.”

Underneath Williamson’s post sharing the letter on Facebook, he subsequently shared a statement reported to have been issued by the school’s headteacher to parents via email. PinkNews was unable to independently validate the legitimacy of the statement.

The statement reads that following the video’s publication the headteacher “would like to reassure you that we are working closely with the police and the relevant authorities to manage this situation and to ensure the privacy and safety of our staff and students”.

“Thank you for your overwhelmingly positive support to date. I kindly ask that you continue to support us by not viewing, sharing or commenting on these posts,” it continued.

“I would also like to be clear that claims made in these posts about disciplinary measures for students are wholly inaccurate. While we cannot comment on individual children or circumstances, we can assure you that any behaviour measures taken are always proportionate, appropriate and in line with our behaviour policy. The scenarios described online do not reflect actual events at our school.

“The school will continue to operate as normal. Should we receive any information that requires a change in our approach, we will of course notify you immediately.

“Our school is a community built on mutual respect. We do not tolerate discrimination of any kind, and we have established support in place for any member of our school community who has been affected. If you or your children have been affected or require support, as always, our safeguarding team is here to help. Details of how to contact the team are on our school website.

“I would like to thank you for your continued support and for helping us maintain a calm and respectful environment for all our students and staff.”

The matter has launched a huge debate amongst parents and wider members of the community on social media, with some calling for the teacher to be sacked on principle of them being a trans person whilst others came to their defence.

“I would like to say both my boys have been taught by this teacher without issue,” one Facebook user commented under Williamson’s post. “Pupils in those classes have been allowed to call the teacher Sir without problems. I would whole heartedly support that teacher, who I have found to be very professional.”

Another Facebook user, who described themselves as an ex-pupil and now parent of a pupil at the school, said they were “absolutely disgusted” with the transphobic comments made about the teacher.

A third wrote: “Former pupil myself and have a younger sister that still attends the school. Not once has a child been taken out of class for using the wrong pronouns and if that’s what your child is telling you and you’re falling for it it tells us more about you. Nothing but positive things to say about this teacher but the more concerning factor is Tommy Robinson walking round harassing the teacher outside their home and showing the school to millions on YouTube putting every child in that school at risk considering his protests have been made up men with domestic abuse charges, rape counts etc who now all know this school exists and where it is but hey he’s all for ‘protecting women and girls’ yeah.”

PinkNews has contacted Windsor Academy Trust, which the school is part of, for comment.