Nancy Kelley of Stonewall speaks to the BBC:
Stonewall head Nancy Kelley has defended the organisation's position amid a freedom of speech row and criticism from a founder.
Matthew Parris said in the Times that Stonewall had become "tangled up in the trans issue" and "cornered into an extremist stance".
But Ms Kelley told the BBC she was "really comfortable" with the direction the charity was going in.
She likened so-called "gender critical" beliefs to anti-Semitism.
Oh ffs. Really? Like antisemitism? That's offensive and deeply stupid all in one.
Ms Kelley said that while Stonewall believed in freedom of speech, it was "not without limit".
"With all beliefs including controversial beliefs there is a right to express those beliefs publicly and where they're harmful or damaging – whether it's anti-Semitic beliefs, gender critical beliefs, beliefs about disability – we have legal systems that are put in place for people who are harmed by that."
Challenged as to whether it might be considered offensive to compare anti-Semitic beliefs to gender-critical views, she insisted it was appropriate.
I doubt she even understands what "gender-critical" means. It's not about some kind of phobia or dislike of trans men and women: it's simply a belief that sex is real; that people can't change sex by just saying the right words; that the whole gender-identity business is a pseudo-science or cult. Trans women are not women. Apart from that – well, it has nothing to say about how trans people should be treated, but I imagine that most people who think of themselves as gender-critical would subscribe to the belief that if a man wants to live as a woman and dress as a woman, well, good luck to him. Live and let live. Just as long as he doesn't think he is a woman. Which means, in practical terms, just as long as he doesn't demand access to women's safe spaces or inclusion in women's sport.
I think history is moving on, and Nancy Kelley has been left behind – stranded and clutching at straws.
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