Britain’s only transgender judge has quit after claiming she is politicising the judiciary.
Master Victoria McCloud, who transitioned from a man to a woman in the 1990s, warned the situation meant she is “now political every time I choose where to pee”.
The 54-year-old became the UK’s first practising transgender barrister and judge.
She was also the youngest person to serve as a King’s Bench Master of the High Court at the age of 40 in 2010.
McCloud’s gender identity was kept private but became public knowledge after being published by a national newspaper
UK JUDICIARY
McCloud’s gender identity was kept private but became public knowledge after being published by a national newspaper.
The top judge, who will formally stand down in April, announced her pending resignation in a letter partially leaked to The Times.
She wrote that this “came at a cost because I became a public figure and a target” and her role “came with the additional responsibility which fell upon me as the first judge from the ‘trans’ community in the UK and globally”.
Referring to the rise of gender-critical campaigners, McCloud added “it has been open season on me and others” and argued this meant “the dignity of the court as well as personal dignity is at stake”.
In addressing her identity politicising the judiciary, she explained: “More prosaically, for me, I am now political every time I choose where to pee.
“Less prosaically, the judiciary, by continuing to let me be a judge, is now at risk of being political.”
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Pomeroy's Statue of Justice on top of the Central Criminal Court building, Old Bailey, London
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McCloud, who worked on high-profile cases stretching from a KGB double-agent to Donald Trump, played a role in writing the judiciary’s Equal Treatment Benchbook.
The 54-year-old contributed to the guidelines which includes a section on “acceptable terminology” concerning gender-identity, including titles and pronouns.
Such guidelines proved controversial in the case of male-born transgender rapist Isla Bryson.
Bryson was jailed for eight years after committing attacks while still known as Adam Graham.
McCloud previously welcomed the prospect of more transgender judges to encourage diversity.
McCloud later voiced her concern “about the difficult position which has developed recently for a trans person, such as me, in public life, but especially as the only such judge”
UK JUDICIARY
However, she later voiced her concern “about the difficult position which has developed recently for a trans person, such as me, in public life, but especially as the only such judge”.
McCloud added: “I have reached the conclusion that in 2024 the national situation and present judicial framework is no longer such that it is possible, in a dignified way, to be both ‘trans’ and a salaried, fairly prominent judge in the UK.”
The 54-year-old’s looming departure was received with sadness by legal experts.
Nazir Afzal, a former chief crown prosecutor, claimed her resignation was “desperately sad” and that she was “one of the finest and fairest judges we have”.
Harminder Bains, a partner at Leigh Day who has appeared befor McCloud many times, added that she had been “at the forefront of advancing the judiciary into the 21st century”.