The former head of trade union UNISON, Chris Tansley, has been removed from the Tribunal bench in the case of 'Hannah', a Christian primary school teacher who was dismissed for raising concerns about a child in her class who was being “socially transitioned”.
The “transition” was being conducted under the guidance of Stonewall, a controversial LGBT group that has in the past received significant amounts of funding from the US government.
Tansley became subject to a recusal application by lawyers acting on Hannah’s behalf, due to his past pro-trans statements and support for the “Transgender Day of Remembrance” and the extreme far-left group, Hope Not Hate.
Employment Judge Peter McTigue concurred with the application, saying, "Tribunals must be completely above any reasonable suspicion of bias or impartiality. It must be free from 'apparent bias.' "Mr Tansley should be removed from the tribunal. Hypothetical observer would believe the 'risk was more than minimal.' Given the sensitive nature of this case and that Mr Tansley was paid by the respondent up until 2023 he should be removed for 'apparent bias.'"
A new tribunal member to represent the trade union viewpoint will be appointed.
Hannah’s case has already been delayed due to similar concerns a year ago.
A hearing collapsed and the whole panel was recused after it emerged that a lay member had made anti-Christian and anti-conservative comments on social media.
Jed Purkis, a GMB union officer, was found to have made comments that amounted to misconduct and was given a formal rebuke.
Purkis expressed the view that only atheists should be permitted to run for public office, also saying, “you won’t catch us killing in the name of our non-god".
Referring to Christians, Purkis also said, “If they’re that f***ing super how come there’s so much s**t going on in the world?’ and "I need no 'higher power' to tell me the right way to treat people and behave…’”
Hannah’s legal case is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre.
