GLP are going after Sarah Phillimore and are going to lose - Part Two

[fromorbit]

The Story so Far

Part 1

The first thread
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5400132-glp-are-going-after-sarah-philmore-and-are-going-to-lose?page=1

Get the popcorn folks. GLP is getting ready to lose again.

They are going after barrister Sarah Phillimore for referring to a man as a man. They think they are going to lawfare her into silence.

Her blog:
Here we are now: Entertain us
I have had now 7 years and counting of the various tactics used to 'silence' those who won't comply with prevailing orthodoxy. How are those tactics holding up?
https://sarahphillimore.substack.com/p/here-we-are-now-entertain-us?

The only thing is other TAs have already tried this on Phillimore multiple times.

They went to the Bar Council their claims were dismissed. They all failed. More to the point this ‘Kate’ is the same guy complaining again who already failed. Sarah Phillimore knows the law and likes explaining it to TAs and making them lose. So she doesn't even resent the attempt.

As Sarah has stated "They pick on someone who not only enjoys this but has now a vast repository of knowledge about the law in this area."

Part 2

So the Fox Basher decided to tell massive lies about Sarah Phillimore now he faces a defamation action.

GLP's case against Sarah rested on evidence from "Kate" and this turned out to be the infamous man in a dress Sophie Sparkles. A guy who was too obnoxious, chaotic and threatening even for the Scottish Greens to tolerate. Even for someone as incompetent as the Fox Basher this plan seemed particularly bad.

A band of helpful gardeners assembled and planted a lot of seeds and soon Sarah's garden was blooming.

Sarah assembled a huge dossier of evidence about Sparkles showing his instability. She carefully built up her case using her excellent legal skills.

After giving the Fox Basher plenty of time to apologise Sarah took action for defamation in December and her blog outlines the story so far nicely:

Letter before Action
I publish here my letter to Jolyon Maugham. There is no freedom of speech to tell harmful lies about others.

For the background to all of this, please see my response to the complaint of the Good Law Project which they made to the Bar Standards Board on August 26 2025. Shortly after this complaint, Mr Maugham chose to assert to his many followers online that I had ‘led a campaign of harassment’ so wicked that it led a trans identifying man to attempt suicide. I deal with that claim at some length in my response. It is not true.

I asked via email on 30 August 2025 for Maugham to delete, apologise and make a donation of £5K to For Women Scotland. His refusal came a few days later in a series of videos posted to TikTok and Instagram where he was clearly excited about the (false) idea that JK Rowling would be joining me in legal action against him. Being able to tell his followers that he faced attack by the Nasty Billionaire Transphobe would clearly have more cachet and would attract more funds to the Good Law Project than a much less sexy tussle with a junior provincial barrister.

I am sorry to disappoint Mr Maugham. It’s just me. Well me, and the so far 990 very generous people who have helped me raise the money to be able to even contemplate this kind of legal action. My grateful thanks to every one of them. I do not think that anyone has ‘freedom of speech’ to tell harmful lies about another person and certainly not a senior member of a regulated profession, who will rely on his status to give his words power and cause harm.

https://sarahphillimore.substack.com/p/letter-before-action

Now the Bar Standards Board has decided that Sarah has no case to answer and released a letter explaining how the GLP had failed again. Details here:

Right Here. Right Now.

Another stunning technical victory for the Good Law Project shows that sanity is being restored to the public debate about gender identity, slowly but ever so surely.

On 27 March 2026 I received the welcome and to be honest not entirely expected news that the Bar Standards Board was not going to investigate further the complaint of the Good Law Project against me on behalf of trans identifying man Euan Weddell, aka Sophie Molly/Sparkles.

https://sarahphillimore.substack.com/p/right-here-right-now

GLP are planning to release a statement which will no doubt spin what has happened as much as possible in its usual style.

Will the Fox Basher's long history of misogynistic hatred for any women who has knowledge about biology and legal incompetence come back to haunt him again?

If he is defeated it will be a warning to all TAs that this type of bigotry and massive lies are not going to be accepted legally in a country where women and men are legally equal.

Whatever happen's Sarah's bravery once again will pay a significant part in restoring a world in which discussing the reality of the existence of male and female human beings is accepted.

Her garden still needs more plants, and harvest so far has been excellent and you can keep watching this thread for more proof of that.

Good post, Red. Bang on.

That is a brilliant post, Red.

Of course the very concept of having to use this misogynistic language, even by omission of the correct language, is galling and terribly unfair.

But, as you point out, this is a long game. And tactics are very important. However annoying, they just are.

You explained it all, beautifully.

@Spero
I've PM'd you - could you check, please.

Sorry on phone and can’t see any way to access messages?

Hi Spero,

Open this URL on your phone browser:
www.mumsnet.com/talk/notifications-page?page=1

Not urgent. Perhaps you could have a look when next on a computer? Thanks.

Sorry - link goes to blank screen. I don’t access via lap top. Try emailing me sarahvphillimore at gmail.com

So cross @Spero i think read nailed it. @Kiminki Has no clue about how litigation takes your life over, and the risks involved financially is an added burden.

I have been in proceedings it can suck the enjoyment of every day life out of you

and yet one keeps going because the malicious intent of another cannot be left unchallenged, or in my case defended.

I just wanted to acknowledge the emotional cost of all this for you and thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you do for women’s rights.

Thank you. What this is about for me is not confined to women’s rights to be recognised and protected as a sex class but also for the rights of all to speak as they wish. Of course there is tension between the first goal and using female pronouns for male people. The key I think is recognising when that tension is so great and dangerous that it must be challenged.

in my JR permission hearing agaisnt Wiltshire police on Monday, Lynsay Watson tried to derail proceedings by sending an email to court alleging I called police supporting trans rights ‘paedophiles’. In discussion about admitting this email (refused) the judge referred to Lynsay Watson several times as ‘she’.

to suggest that I am under some kind of duty to then demand the Judge say ‘he’ would be insane and counterproductive. My goal in that room was to get permission to proceed - we did - and then go on to defeat Wiltshire in the main hearing, this making it easier to build a world where no one has to say ‘she’ for a man if they don’t want to.

What I've learned about legal proceedings is that you need to have a clear idea of an achievable goal, or that goal and secondary goal(s).

Every time you make a decision about what to do you ask yourself: Will this assist in me getting to my goal(s)?

You keep ego out of it. Allowing ego to intrude is rarely productive.

Yep. And most litigators aren't above essentially grovelling to the Court when there's been a fuck up in the hope a Judge takes pity on you and grants you relief!

I actually see it a bit less in younger litigators, but those of us who've done it for a fair while know that you just have to fall on your sword and hope you get a sympathetic hearing!

It's like chess where you sacrifice a pawn to save your queen. Tactics.

Totally agree - I try to apply that to life generally!

It always amazes me how others dont and then end up doing things that are counterproductive or damaging to themselves because emotions took over.

it’s so hard keeping a cool head tho!

Some people are better at it than others. Which is why some people work in a practical, pragmatic way, and others in a legalistic, linguistic way, and others still in an emotive, story-based way.

We get there eventually.

There is a difference between demanding the judge say "he" - which you certainly cant do - and asking the judge to avoid the appearance of bias by referring to men as "she" in a case about that or simply using he yourself. Using wrong sex pronouns is something women are no longer required to do in court. IANAL, I wont be in court and if those who are think it's a compromise they have to make it's their choice. In pointing out it's a choice they dont HAVE to make I'm stating a fact, not an opinion on their tactics.

I believe in supporting women fighting through the courts regardless of how they conduct their case. So I planted something in this garden, although I'm more concerned at the moment that the chair of SEEN is supported in her court case.

Love this analogy!

I emailed you - would you mind checking it arrived? Tx.

GLP have issued a self congratulatory summary of their recent interventions on gender matters which completely ignores the fact they are yet to win a case in the area.
https://archive.is/Acmxp

Really interesting case reported on that link - thanks:

For example, we are helping two trans gym users Virgin Active over their recent policy of trans exclusion. We think this case shows the harsh reality of third spaces in practice. Not only do our claimants face the indignity and risk of being segregated from the general public and told to use accessible toilets to change, they can’t even use all of the facilities they are paying for – such as the pool and sauna – because these can only be reached by going through either the men’s or women’s changing rooms. Both claimants have been so worried about using the gym that they have either greatly reduced or completely stopped using some facilities for fear of being harassed. We know that this is now the experience of so many trans people just trying to live their lives. But we say the law does not require trans exclusion, and that Virgin Active have unlawfully discriminated against our claimants.

Virgin Active implemented their transphobic rules after they were threatened with legal action by GB News presenter Michelle Dewberry, with the support of the anti-trans group Sex Matters. They are not the only organisation who has been threatened unless they enforce trans-exclusion.

i assume the intention will be to force Virgin to allow access to opposite sex facilities to avoid the creation of new unisex changing and entrances to the sauna etc.

This is based on the (imo false) assumption that they have an absolute right to access via opposite sex spaces…. or a separate entrance/third space. But…. I fear what this case may simply do is embed a “reasonable adjustments” approach like with disability.

I’d like to see them argue why it’s not possible to adjust their beliefs when they’re expecting women to do just that!?

And If reasonable adjustments is OK for physical impairment then it must absolutely be ok for a belief.

This could be marvellous for assisting the GC position

Why can’t they walk through the space of their actual sex when changed? Why is the onus on having women have men changing with them? As Knotty said it could be a matter for reasonable adjustments in terms of what “third spaces” can do, otherwise you use the spaces for your sex and deal with it.

I wonder what would happen if the sports centre made the men’s in to mixed sex?

It's not like sports where male advantage means an open or mixed sex category can work.

I wouldn't like mixed sex changing, it's a no from me.

Absolutely - men have the same right to privacy and dignity as women.

Well exactly! The chaps would (rightly) object and suddenly realise the “culture war” wasnt just wims whining?! Might get some resolution after that