A FORMER civil servant is raising funds to take the Scottish Government to an employment tribunal, claiming he was discriminated against for his gender-critical beliefs.
Kenneth McBride said he was dismissed from a temporary agency role at Transport Scotland after promoting an “affinity network for sex realists” on the organisation’s internal communication system.
He has launched a fundraiser with the intention of challenging the Government’s “hostility to civil servants who believe that sex matters” and to be compensated for his dismissal.
The Scottish Government said it would not comment on live legal proceedings.
McBride said he started working with the government agency in 2022 after “several years” out of work owing to ill health and “immediately began to have concerns about the Scottish Government's promotion of gender ideology and hostility to people with sex realist or gender critical beliefs”.
In the statement attached to his fundraiser, McBride said: “In December, I posted on Yammer (a social network on the Scottish Government intranet) about the Sex Equality and Equity Network (SEEN), a new affinity network for sex realists in the civil service.
“I received a series of extremely hostile comments saying that views like this were not welcome in the Scottish Government. One person even told me that it was his duty to challenge any expression of sex realist beliefs as part of the Scottish Government's commitment to ‘diversity’.”
He said he was being supported by discrimination specialist Elizabeth McGlone at the law firm Didlaw.
McBride added: “I have sought a resolution to this at every stage. I have asked that some of the damage that has already been done be undone, but the Scottish Government has refused to take action.
“Now, my only remaining option is to take the Scottish Government and Transport Scotland to an employment tribunal. My goal is to force the Scottish Government to end its hostility to civil servants who believe that sex matters, and also to compensate me for the loss of employment and the discrimination I suffered.
“There is no guarantee of success. The Scottish Government has a lot more resources with which to fight this case than I do. I don't want to have to ask for your money to help fight this case. I never wanted to have to fight this case at all. I don't believe I have much choice though.
“A national government should not be able to discriminate against workers in this way, and staying silent is not an option.”
The fundraiser has raised more than £2500 at time of writing, with a goal of reaching £85,000 in 29 days' time.
McBride has set an initial target of £2000 - which has already been reached - to fund preparations for the tribunal. He said the "stretch target" of £85,000 was the estimated cost of the whole case.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We do not comment on live legal proceedings. The Scottish Government is strongly committed to equality and inclusion and to being a world leading, diverse employer.”
