Trans rights groups lead ’emergency’ protest over landmark gender court ruling

Thousands of trans rights protesters have gathered in central London days after a Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman.

Trans rights groups, trade unions and community organisations came together for what was billed as an “emergency demonstration” in Parliament Square.

Activists demanded “trans liberation” and “trans rights now”, with some waving flags and holding banners.

In a long-awaited judgment delivered on Wednesday, the UK’s highest court confirmed the terms “woman” and “sex” in the 2010 Equality Act “refer to a biological woman and biological sex”.

This means transgender women with a gender recognition certificate can be excluded from single-sex spaces if “proportionate”.

The Government said the unanimous decision by five judges brought “clarity and confidence” for women and service providers, while a Labour Party source said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had brought the party to a “common sense position” on the subject from an “activist” stance.

The ruling means trans women cannot use single-sex female toilets, changing rooms or compete in women’s sports, according to the head of Britain’s equalities watchdog.

Among the groups supporting the London protest are Trans Kids Deserve Better, Pride in Labour, the Front for the Liberation of Intersex Non-binary and Transgender people (Flint) and TransActual.

A rally and march organised by Resisting Transphobia will also take place in Edinburgh on Saturday afternoon.