Charity’s attacks on LGB Alliance ‘homophobic’, tribunal told

Mermaids calls on judges to strip the gay group of its charitable status amid claims it is a ‘political front’

A TRANSGENDER children’s charity’s attempts to have a gay group punished are “profoundly homophobic”, a tribunal has heard.

Mermaids is asking judges to strip the LGB Alliance of its charitable status after claiming that the organisation is merely a front for transphobia.

But Karon Monaghan KC, representing the LGB Alliance, alleged that Mermaids had not suggested that the charity was a “sham”.

Instead the case, which included evidence of social media posts, relied upon “insinuation” and “conspiracy” to suggest that they were “setting out to deceive” the Charity Commission about the work they were doing.

She said that during the hearing Mermaids had suggested terms such as sexual orientation, sex-based rights, and lesbian, gay and bisexual were “used to signal position against trans rights”.

“This is deeply offensive, and it is profoundly homophobic, it is again the love that cannot speak its name,” Ms Monaghan told the tribunal.

Michael Gibbon KC, representing Mermaids, denied any accusation of homophobia. He told the court that the LGB Alliance was seeking to undermine trans charities such as Mermaids “by promoting the view that they spread disinformation and by seeking to deprive them of funding”.

The tribunal in central London heard that the two charities fundamentally disagreed on issues of trans rights, with the LGB Alliance taking the position that you cannot change your biological sex.

Mermaids launched the legal action arguing that the alliance should be stripped of its charitable status as merely a front for transphobia and political campaigning to prevent changes in the law. It is believed to be the first time a charity has ever challenged the registration of another charity.

Separately to the tribunal, Mermaids is subject to an investigation by the Charity Commission which opened a “regulatory compliance case” after an investigation by The Daily Telegraph revealed safe-guarding “red flags” in its dealings with children.

Ms Monaghan told the judges that “Mermaids’ charitable status is not the subject of scrutiny here” but reminded them that the trans charity also took part in political lobbying.

The First-tier Tribunal in central London is expected to give its ruling next year.