Phillimore: Case likely to end up in court
The Good Law Project (GLP) is challenging the Bar Standards Board’s (BSB) decision to reject its complaint against a barrister over her social media posts about a trans woman.
It is calling for the case to be referred to the BSB’s Independent Reviewer, so the decision and how it was made can be audited, failing which it is likely to bring a judicial review against the regulator.
The GLP complained to the BSB last August about a series of social media posts that Sarah Phillimore made about a trans woman.
The family law barrister, who practises from St John’s Chambers in Bristol, posts regularly on X as a private individual, not as a lawyer, reaching an audience of around 40,000 followers.
The GLP submitted more than 50 of Ms Phillimore’s posts to the BSB as evidence of how she had attacked a trans woman online, misgendered and deadnamed her, shared photos and used graphic language about her genitals.
To protect the person’s identity, the GLP refer to the trans woman as Kate. The GLP believe Ms Phillimore singled Kate out “for cruel treatment”.
But in April the regulator rejected the complaint [1], concluding that Ms Phillimore “has the right to manifest her gender critical beliefs”.
Ms Phillimore said she was not singling out this one trans woman, to inflict any kind of cruelty. The BSB agreed.
The GLP had argued that Ms Phillimore’s posts were “likely to diminish the trust and confidence” placed in her and the profession.
The BSB said it did not believe that the posts were “either seriously offensive or otherwise a potential breach of CD5 [core duty 5 – upholding public trust] by being harassing, bullying, victimising or discriminating”.
Announcing its challenge, the GLP said: “We think the BSB has failed to hold Phillimore to the high standards expected of barristers and to consider if her behaviour amounted to bullying or conduct that was seriously offensive, indecent or obscene.
“If their decision stands, it would mean that barristers could attack people on social media without risking any sanction.”
In response, Ms Phillimore said: “If the GLP succeed in their review, then of course the BSB will face me in judicial review. Indeed it looks as if this matter will be aired in court regardless of the outcome, the GLP having firmly hitched its wagon and other people’s money to the noble goal of trying to make it impossible for anyone to challenge or criticise any proponent of gender identity, no matter what awful things they say and do…
“What I am worried about is the extent to which ‘abuse’ and its annoying younger sibling ‘harassment’ have now become the worst of all weasel words, dangerous umbrella terms which can and frequently are weaponised by some of the least deserving to hold off any legitimate challenge or criticism.”
“As I have repeatedly said, I do not accept that ANY of my social media activities are seriously offensive, discriminatory, bullying, indecent, obscene or gratuitously abusive.”
The GLP has its own ‘Fighting Fund for Trans Rights’, while Ms Phillimore is using the CrowdJustice website to raise the funds she needs to sue GLP founder Jolyon Maugham KC for defamation over a social media post from last August which accused her of leading “a campaign of harassment of a trans woman so wicked that she sought to take her own life”.
The barrister has raised £46,500 so far. Mr Maugham has said he will “vigorously” defend any libel action.