Charity seeks civil service Pride and lanyard ban

A Christian campaign group wants civil servants to be banned from representing their workplace at Pride events

A campaign group has launched legal action to prevent civil servants wearing lanyards, listing their preferred pronouns and attending Pride events while identified as staff.

The Christian Institute, which is based in Newcastle, claims these actions suggest the civil service supports gender ideology - the belief that gender can be different from biological sex - when it should remain impartial.

The charity's deputy director, Simon Calvert, said meetings with a "phalanx of civil servants in rainbow lanyards" gave the impression their minds were closed to alternative views.

The government said the civil service was "committed to an inclusive environment for all staff".

The Christian Institute said the civil service's participation in Pride showed an "overt expression of alignment" with one side of the debate on gender ideology, as many marches support trans rights.

In a letter before action, a formal document sent before initiating court proceedings, the institute said it wished to uphold the right to express "gender critical" views, which support the contention that biological sex is immutable, as well as "traditional Christian views about marriage and sexual ethics".

It has called for staff to be banned from doing anything which "gives or may reasonably be perceived by the public as giving the impression" the civil service supports gender ideology.

'Taxpayers expect neutrality'

Mr Calvert said the law was clear that civil servants were obliged to maintain impartiality on "controversial political issues".

"Whether one agrees with it or not, no one can deny that the LGBTQ Pride movement and its hard-line gender ideology are profoundly political," he said.

Mr Calvert said he had attended meetings with the civil service about the clashes between LGBTQ politics and the Christian faith and found staff members wearing Pride lanyards during the meetings.

"Sitting in front of a phalanx of civil servants in rainbow lanyards gives the impression that their minds are closed on the issues we are discussing," he said.

"It certainly does not communicate the kind of neutrality that taxpayers expect of civil servants."

The Christian Institute has argued civil servants should remain impartial

A government spokesperson said: "The civil service is committed to an inclusive environment for all staff, boosting productivity and opening up opportunities across the country."

The Public and Commercial Services Union, which represents civil servants, declined to comment on how the legal challenge could affect its members and whether the union felt they should be allowed to represent the service in Pride events.

In its letter before action, the institute referenced a recent judicial review which ruled Northumbria Police had acted unlawfully when it allowed officers to represent the force while taking part in a Pride march because this breached officers' duty to be impartial.

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