Equalities watchdog moved from Vauxhall office after “attack on the building”, MPs told
EHRC chair Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson asked trans people to judge her on her actions. (YouTube)
EHRC chair Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson (Image: YouTube)
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has moved away from its Vauxhall office after an attack on the building, with chair Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson telling MPs that fears for staff safety have escalated following a Supreme Court ruling on the Equality Act’s definition of sex.
Giving evidence to the women and equalities select committee on Tuesday, Stephenson said the watchdog had been forced to relocate “because of an attack on the building, vandalism, by a group that had also vandalised conferences and Wes Streeting’s office”.
Stephenson also told MPs the wider public argument around sex and gender had become “increasingly febrile and deeply unpleasant”. She said: “It has been unpleasant for trans people. It has also been very unpleasant for very many numbers of women who were trying to argue what the Supreme Court has now said is the law.”
Independent MP Rosie Duffield, who resigned from Labour in 2024, questioned whether EHRC staff felt safe following demonstrations against the commission’s work.
What Stephenson told the committee
Stephenson argued: “One of the best ways to resolve these sorts of conflicts is through dialogue that recognises the needs of different groups.”
She added: “I think one of the reasons why discussion has become so unpleasant in this area is because for such a long time, that dialogue was prevented from happening.”
Claims have also circulated about who was responsible for the vandalism. A group called Bash Back is reportedly believed to be behind threats to the EHRC. Videos were also said to have circulated on social media last year showing activists spray painting the building and destroying windows.
The group was quoted as saying: “But they demand certain rights be denied from trans people – denied from us specifically. Are we not human?” and “We will not stop until we are free,” in comments attributed to it.
Why the EHRC is under scrutiny
The EHRC is the UK’s statutory equality body, responsible for promoting and enforcing equality and non-discrimination laws and advising on human rights standards. Its interventions and guidance on sex and gender have been politically contentious in recent years, including over updated draft code proposals on single-sex spaces.
Stephenson’s evidence comes amid continued political pressure on the commission’s approach, with more than 100 MPs signing a bid to disapprove its single-sex spaces code.
