The Scout Association has apologised to a campaigner after investigating her for two years for ‘misgendering’ a bearded man on Twitter.

Back in 2019, assistant cub scout leader Maya Forstater inadvertently called bearded transgender scout leader Gregor Murray ‘he’ rather than ‘they’ during a discussion on Twitter, prompting him to complain and the Scout Association to launch an enquiry.

After all, how could anyone possibly think this person uses ‘he/him’ pronouns? Especially with a name like ‘Gregor’? You would be crazy to assume such a thing…

The investigation initially found that Miss Forstater had brought the organisation into disrepute, but they have this week sensibly changed their position, saying she ‘did not deliberately misgender the complainant in order to cause harm’ and that she ‘did not spread lies about them’.

Miss Forstater, who runs the group Sex Matters, says:

The whole process has been bullying from start to finish. They didn’t interview me. They ignored my evidence. They made things up I hadn’t done.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Scouts said:

It is inappropriate for us to comment further on a case that has been closed.

Fittingly, their Twitter conversation back in 2019 was itself based around the Scouts’ transgender policy, which Miss Forstater had raised concerns about regarding the end of separate spaces, such as sleeping facilities, for girls and boys.

When Gregor Murray joined the discussion, Miss Forstater referred to him using the pronoun ‘he’ rather than his preferred ‘they’. Forstater’s insisted the misgendering was not intentional, but Gregor was having none of it.

He says:

I am very disappointed to see the Scout Association kowtow to bigotry. I think that that sends the wrong message to the amazing young people we work with.

I think the association’s actions are incongruent with their stated aims and values, particularly their promise to be “youth shaped” and inclusive.

This is an unfortunate example of those with the most privilege demonstrating utter cowardice, and doing what is easy, rather than what is right.

I will continue to fight for trans adults and young people, even though I don’t have the platform or resources that my opponents do. I urge all organisations who may work with trans people to stand up for their most vulnerable members.

Interestingly, Forstater was going through an employment tribunal case at the time after she was sacked for claiming people could not change their biological sex. Initially a judge found that her views were ‘not worthy of respect in a democratic society’, but this judgment was also overturned last summer.

The Scout Association finally issued an apology on Friday, saying:

The evidence that you provided in response to the complaint, to demonstrate that it was vexatious was not considered at the appropriate time by the Scout Association.

If it had been, the complaint may well have been found to have been vexatious.

In any case it is clear you did not deliberately misgender the complainant in order to cause harm and did not spread lies and misinformation about them, as alleged in their complaint about you.

The Scout Association therefore apologises for the experience you have encountered through this process which has gone on for over two years.

Miss Forstater says:

I am glad this part is over. I loved being a Scout leader but I have left the Scouts because I did not feel proud to wear the uniform anymore after the way they treated me.

They allowed Gregor Murray to use their complaints process to bully me for speaking up about safeguarding. It is part of a wider problem that the Scout Association has. I hope they will face up to it.

It is hard to believe that the thing people are most concerned about is respecting pronouns when you are talking about whether male people can be allowed to invade the space where women are naked and vulnerable.

What about the intimidating, hostile and degrading environment this creates for women and girls?

Well, all’s well that ends well eh? Sounds to us like it was an honest mistake on her behalf to misgender Gregor Murray, which I imagine is something that happens to him them quite often. Just a shame it took two whole years to sort it out. Can we please just use common sense in these situation in future?

For the gender-fluid engineer who was awarded £180,000 compensation after his colleagues referred to him as ‘it’, click HERE.