Following yesterday’s publication in Parliament of the EHRC Code of Practice on single-sex spaces, the Darlington Nurses and the Christian Legal Centre respond.
Supported from the beginning of their ordeal by the Christian Legal Centre, the Darlington nurses won a landmark Employment Tribunal case in January 2026 after it was found that an NHS Trust had violated their dignity through a policy that allowed men who identify as women into the female staff changing room.
For raising concerns, they were told they needed to be ‘educated’ and more ‘inclusive’, and that the man using the changing room would help educate them.
Despite their win, where a judge ruled that it was a ‘protected act’ for the nurses to speak to the media about their experiences, four of them still face potential investigation by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
Andrea Williams, Chief Executive, Christian Legal Centre, which has supported both of these high-profile cases from the beginning, said:
“This Code of Practice confirms what should never have been in doubt: the law has always required the protection of single-sex spaces. Public bodies, including the NHS, have had a legal duty to comply, yet many have failed to do so, choosing instead to hide behind ‘awaiting guidance’ while pursuing unlawful policies.
“We remain deeply concerned that, as Bridget Phillipson acknowledged in her February meeting with Christian nurse Jennifer Melle, this Code will not even extend to workplaces. That gap must not become another loophole for inaction. There can be no more delays. The law is clear and must now be implemented in full.
“The Christian Legal Centre continues to support a number of brave healthcare professionals who have faced disciplinary action and discrimination simply for standing by the law and by biological reality. They should never have been put in this position.”
Bethany Hutchison, Darlington nurse and President of the Darlington Nursing Union, said:
“The publication of the EHRC Code of Practice must mark the end of delay and denial. The NHS and other public bodies should have been following the law, and the Supreme Court’s ruling, all along. ‘Waiting for guidance’ has been used as a smokescreen to avoid making the necessary changes and to prolong the imposition of radical, Stonewall-influenced gender identity policies that have placed both staff and patients in deeply difficult situations. There are now no excuses, no more smoke and mirrors. The law must be followed.
“Frontline nurses have paid a heavy price for speaking up, and in Darlington we have seen first-hand the consequences of institutional failure. We now need urgent, system-wide reform to restore confidence, protect patient dignity, and ensure staff can carry out their duties without fear of reprisal.”
