A transgender rights group has lost its case to have a gay rights organisation stripped of its charitable status in what is believed to be the first case of its kind in the UK. Mermaids, which supports transgender, non-binary and gender diverse children and their families, had appealed against the decision of the Charity Commission to grant LGB Alliance charitable status in 2021.
It is thought to be the first time in the UK that a charity has sought to have the charitable status of another removed. A two-judge panel at the General Regulatory Chamber in London ruled in a brief online hearing on Thursday that the appeal was dismissed.
Judge Lynn Griffin said: “The appeal in this case is dismissed. We have dismissed this appeal because we have decided that the law does not permit Mermaids to challenge the decision made by the Charity Commission to register LGB Alliance as a charity.”
LGB Alliance described itself as a charity which promotes the rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual people “on the basis of sex rather than gender and believes that gender transition is largely driven by homophobia”.
During the hearings last year LGB Alliance co-founder Bev Jackson said the organisation shared the view of Harry Potter author JK Rowling that “without sex there is no same-sex attraction”.
Ms Jackson said: “Anti-lesbian prejudice and fear is leading many teens, especially lesbians, to believe that they have ‘gender identity’ issues when they are in fact grappling with their emerging lesbian/gay sexual orientation.”
Dr Belinda Bell, chair of trustees at Mermaids, accused LGB Alliance of trying to “undermine” the work of charities such as Mermaids and Stonewall. Her statement at last year’s hearing read: “A central goal of LGB Alliance is seeking to undermine the work of a wide variety of organisations which it says have promoted trans rights to the detriment of women, children and LGB people.”
It added that LGB Alliance “has repeatedly stated in public forums that Mermaids seeks to inappropriately push LGB children into identifying as trans”, allegations it said are “false and harmful to Mermaids’ ongoing work”.
Mermaids said it was “disappointed” by the tribunal decision but added that it is taking legal advice on a possible appeal. In a statement the charity said: “While we are disappointed by the finding that we did not have standing to bring the appeal, Mermaids is proud to have been able to speak up authentically for the trans community in court, and to have demonstrated that the LGBT+ sector is united in its trans-inclusive approach, which we believe to be a victory in itself.”
Separately, a Charity Commission inquiry into Mermaids – opened in December last year after new concerns were identified about the organisation’s governance and management – is ongoing.
