Choir dropped from London Marathon over founder's gender-critical views

Alice Tomlinson
Sat, 25 Apr 2026 11:14:28 +0000

A choir has been dropped from the London marathon over its founder's gender-critical views.

The Singing Striders, an amateur ensemble that regularly performs at the sidelines of running events, has been asked to step down from the capital's marathon after a disability charity objected to the gender-critical views of its founder.

The singing group has been invited by Scope to support the runners in Sunday's race.

Janet Murray, the founder of Singing Striders, has publicly expressed concerns about the inclusion of biological males in women's sports and organisations such as the Girl Guides, the Telegraph reports.

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Scope, the disability charity, revoked the invite after receiving two anonymous complaints about the views expressed by Ms Murray.

The charity, originally founded in 1951, informed the choir lead that her views on gender ideology - that gender is a matter of biological sex rather than self-identification - are incompatible with Scope's "commitment to diversity and inclusion".

Charity bosses told Ms Murray directly: "We are concerned about your views because we don't agree with your views."

She condemned the decision, arguing that her personal views have nothing to do with the choir's work.

She said: "When cancel culture finds its way into something as joyful as a choir singing for marathon runners, it's a sobering reminder of how insidious it can be.

"My choir exists to lift people up, helping them through the hardest moments as they raise money for charity. I've run the London Marathon myself, and I know how much that support means.

"I leave politics at home when I'm with the choir and so does everyone else."

She concluded it was the charity that had invited politics into what she considered to be an apolitical space.

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The cancellation was even more shocking for the choir as they had performed for Scope at previous London Marathons, without any complaint or incident.

The choir had been due to perform at the Mile-Three cheer point in Woolwich from 8.30am to 1pm, with only minor travel expenses covered by the charity.

Members of the group had reportedly spent months rehearsing ahead of the event and were said to be surprised and disappointed by the last-minute decision.

It is understood they remained hopeful that another organisation might step in to offer them a performance slot at the marathon.

The London Marathon features several dedicated cheer points along the route designed to boost runner morale, with Scope holding two spaces this year at Tower Hill and Woolwich.

Scope has defended the decision, saying it reflects its commitment to the equality and inclusion of trans and non-binary disabled people, including colleagues, volunteers and supporters.

The charity's chief executive John McLachlan said: "Concerns were raised to us about the views of the founder and director of Singing Striders, a choir who were due to volunteer to perform for us at the London Marathon.

"After consideration, we took the decision to not have their choir perform on our behalf."

He concluded by saying they respect that people have different political views, but they remain dedicated to disabled people who identify as trans or non-binary.

The 2024 Cass Review, which cautioned against rushing children into gender transitions and reignited public debate around gender ideology in Britain.

Critics of gender ideology have faced increasing professional consequences in recent years, with figures including Father Ted co-writer Graham Linehan among those to have faced cancellation over their views on the issue.

The Supreme Court ruled just over a year ago that "sex" and "woman" refer to biological sex assigned at birth.

This meant the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex.