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The London Maths Society (LMS) has withdrawn its transgender inclusion policy after a gender-critical academic threatened to sue them.
The row began after John Armstrong, a member and senior lecturer at King’s College London, threatened to sue the LMS over its recent publication of a new transgender inclusion policy.
He claimed the policy discriminated against people who hold gender-critical views that sex is biological and cannot be changed.
Mr Armstrong raised issue with several points included in the society’s ‘Statement of Commitment for Trans Inclusion’, which was approved in September.
The public document on the society’s website read: ‘The society reaffirms its strong commitment to promote equality, foster inclusion and protect the rights of individuals with characteristics protected under the Equality Act of 2010.
‘The following commitment lays out the society’s approach to trans inclusion.’
Mr Armstrong, a gender-critical academic and commentator, sent a letter to council members at LMS in which he objected to the policy.
He argued restricted free speech and itself discriminated against ‘gender-critical’ beliefs.
Mr Armstrong said the policy, which ‘supported the use of [toilet] facilities that align with a person’s affirmed identity’ was ‘in apparent defiance of the Supreme Court’.
He said in an op-ed for the Spectator , that the LMS ‘have chosen to write their first ever trans policy after the judgement and this policy appears to openly flout the Court’s ruling.’
In April, the Supreme Court announced that the definition of a woman is based on ‘biological sex’ in a landmark judgement.
John Armstrong (pictured) is an academic and member of the LMS who threatened to sue the society over its transgender inclusion policy
Supreme Court justices unanimously decided that ‘the terms woman and sex in the Equality Act refer to a ‘biological woman and biological sex’.
Mr Armstrong also objected to the policy’s threat of disciplinary action against members for ‘consistently using incorrect titles, pronouns or names to refer to a trans person’.
He said this particular warning from the LMS signified a ‘dramatic restriction on freedom of expression’ and stopped them from being able to make ‘light-hearted or joking comments’ because it had been too broadly written.
But the prestigious society, which was established in 1865, rejected his arguments further sparking the wrath of Mr Armstrong, who threatened to sue and sent them a pre-action letter.
In a dramatic U-turn, the LMS withdraw its statement of commitment for trans inclusion last week.
In a notice on their website, posted last week, the LMS said: ‘We are committed to advancing equity and diversity so that mathematicians of all backgrounds are treated with dignity and respect.
‘Following legal advice we have withdrawn our recent statement. We remain committed to supporting our trans members in the best way possible.
‘However, the practical implications of the legal judgment in For Women Scotland are unclear and, like many other organisations, we await further guidance from the EHRC.
‘We will continue to support all members of the mathematical community, including our LGBTQIA+ colleagues.’
Mr Armstrong told the Daily Mail he was ‘very pleased that the LMS have seen sense and withdrawn this policy’.
‘It is disappointing that their latest message emphasises their support for LGBTQIA+ colleagues, but says nothing to reassure the people they were discriminating against – women and gender-critical people,’ he said.
‘By failing to acknowledge they’ve let women down, the LMS risks sending the message that women don’t count.’
Mr Armstrong added: ‘It is ridiculous that I had to lawyer up. Academia needs to start obeying the law.’
The society has not confirmed whether it will issue an amended statement.
The LMS is an eminent mathematics society in the UK, which publishes journals, holds lectures, engages with government policy and strategy, and issues research grants.
