Equality Watchdog Must Be Allowed to Advise, Government Says, After Transgender Groups Report It to UN

The equality watchdog must be allowed to advise without intervention, the government said after the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) was put under a U.N. review following lobbying by transgender activist groups. It comes after EHRC Chair Baroness Falkner said the commission had been targeted by campaign groups led by Stonewall after it advised the government in April, backing the idea of defining “sex” as biological sex in the UK’s equality law. As a result, the watchdog has been put under special review by the U.N.’s Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI). Stonewall has also attempted to secure a special review last year before submitting evidence in September to GANHRI’s periodic review of the EHRC. In October, GANHRI re-accredited the British watchdog with an “A” rating....