Gender-critical barrister Allison Bailey wins £20,000 payout from her chambers after tribunal ruled she had been victimised for her beliefs when she opposed Stonewall ‘trans extremism’
- Allison Bailley, 53, is a gender critical barrister and a founder of the LGB Alliance
- She was discriminated by Garden Court Chambers after criticising Stonewall
A lesbian barrister who was discriminated against by her chambers after criticising Stonewall has been awarded £20,000 in costs for her ex-employers’ ‘unreasonable conduct’ during litigation.
Allison Bailey, 53, was a longtime criminal defence specialist at Garden Court Chambers but found herself under investigation after arguing against the chambers becoming a Stonewall Diversity Champion.
Stonewall, for its part, emailed Garden Court with a list of criticisms of Ms Bailey’s social media activity.
Ms Bailey went on to take legal action against both Garden Court and Stonewall in an employment tribunal last year, which saw her emerge victorious against her chambers with £22,000 compensation, The Telegraph reports.
Ms Bailey did not win in her action against Stonewall, but the case – which attracted support from JK Rowling – was deemed to have set a legal precedent in protecting employees’ rights to express their opinions.
Allison Bailey said Stonewall convinced her employer Garden Court Chambers to investigate her support of gender-critical beliefs and sued them both for discrimination. She won £22,000 damages from Garden Court but lost the case against Stonewall
Garden Court chambers (pictured) has now been ordered to pay an additional £20,000 in costs to Ms Bailey for the manner in which it conducted itself during litigation
Now, a costs hearing has further resulted in Ms Bailey receiving £20,000 for the way Garden Court and its legal team conducted themselves during the examination.
READ MORE: BARRISTER WINS HISTORIC BATTLE STANDING UP AGAINST TRANS EXTREMISM
The panel was sharply critical of Garden Court’s failure to provide an organised case bundle, regarded as inherent for the smooth running of any hearing.
Led by Employment Judge Goodman, the panel stated: ‘Stepping back from the detail, we considered whether there was unreasonable conduct in the preparation of the bundle.
‘We concluded that there was.
‘As set out, in several respects it went well beyond normal disagreement.’
The judgment added it was unclear if the fault lay with poor resourcing or an issue of ‘personality’ from those involved.
Located in Lincoln’s Inn Fields just a stone’s throw from where the tribunal took place, Garden Court has a reputation as one of London’s most prestigious chambers.
It is understood £20,000 is the highest costs sum a tribunal can impose on a party without having to launch further litigation.
Ms Bailey said: ‘This win demonstrated the discrimination and aggravated discrimination to which I personally was subjected by a set of barristers who define and present themselves as defenders of human rights.
‘It also demonstrated the institutional approaches and beliefs that cause that discrimination to arise – as is now being demonstrated in other cases brought by other women against other institutions.
The case was heard at London Central employment tribunal
Ms Bailey has now been awarded an additional £20,000 from Garden Court Chambers in a costs hearing
Last year, JK Rowling congratulated Allison Bailey on taking her stand, calling her a ‘heroine’ who ‘refused to abandon her beliefs in the face [sic] of intimidation’
Ms Bailey received backing from Harry Potter author JK Rowling, who tweeted a picture of her ‘inspirational’ friend to mark Lesbian Visibility Week
‘The case demonstrated that standing up for women’s sex-based rights, safeguarding norms and against the medicalisation of puberty in gender non-conforming children and youth, and against Stonewall’s particular brand of campaigning on self-ID, is protected under the Equality Act.’
The gender critical campaigner was left with costs of £765,665 for the litigation last year and has relied on public fundraising to support her legal case, while Garden Court spent £675,673.
Ms Bailey said she believed Garden Court wanted her to pay up to half of their costs.
The conflict came about during discussions in 2018 for the chambers to become a Stonewall Diversity Champion.
Ms Bailey told her colleagues her belief that Stonewall was involved in ‘harassment, intimidation and threats’ against anyone with an opposing view.
Garden Court went on to publicly tweet that she would be investigated over allegations she was transphobic, and Ms Bailey said her earnings were drastically cut short.
Ms Bailey has already vowed to appeal her case against Stonewall.
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