A gender-critical teacher sacked for refusing to use a student’s preferred pronouns has lamented the decision in a GB News interview.
Speaking to Bev Turner and Ben Leo, Kevin Lister said the Equality Act has resulted in children’s safeguarding being ‘usurped’.
He said the tribunal’s ruling left him ‘devastated’ after a statement said that he had ‘harassed and discriminated’ a student.
But the 60-year-old told GB News he has no regrets for ‘putting safeguarding first’ and refusing to refer to the student as their preferred pronouns.
“I would do the same thing. What has happened is, we have allowed the Equality Act and any ideology to completely usurp our obligations to safeguarding and to ensure safe spaces for children.
Speaking on how the complaint initially came about, Lister told Ben and Bev that him raising a safeguarding concern prompted the situation.
“I was writing girls names to go up in a girls maths competition.
“I had raised a safeguarding concern and I’d asked, did we have parental consent before we supported this social transition?
“The only response I got from safeguarding is the college policy is not to tell the parents.
“I didn’t want to go and support that social transition. The safeguarding asked three things, it asked was there parental consent? Was she making an informed decision? And was she at risk of self-medicating with cross-sex hormones which are easily available online now.”
Lister refused to refer to a 17-year-old biologically female by their preferred male name and he/him pronouns in A-level lessons.
He told an employment tribunal in Bristol on Tuesday that the teenager, known only as Student A, choosing to use male pronouns had the effect of ‘compelled speech’, meaning he and fellow students felt effectively forced into following their wish.
