The health official behind the pause of the NHS’s puberty blocker trial has been sacked amid accusations of bias with "trans-critical views".
Professor Jacob George reportedly raised concerns over the trial after taking up his role as the chief medical and scientific officer at the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) earlier this year.
The trial was paused by the Department of Health after the regulator’s subsequent intervention, with social media posts having now emerged of Professor George praising JK Rowling and criticising people for the denial of “basic biological fact”.
His dismissal has sparked backlash, with critics saying it is unlawful and represents harassment of those who hold gender-critical views.
Maya Forstater, chief executive of campaign group Sex Matters, condemned the decision, and wrote to the chief executive and the chairman of the MHRA citing his dismissal as "a scandal that undermines trust in medical regulation in the UK".
She added: “It is also unlawful, contrary to your legal duty not to discriminate against or harass employees on the basis of belief.
“We urge you to reinstate Professor George with a full apology to clear his name and to reassure your other staff that those expressing gender-critical views (or disagreeing with gender ideology) are not at risk of similar discrimination and harassment.”
The MHRA had approved a request from King's College London to carry out a trial on puberty blocker drugs in November last year, which stop the body’s natural development.
Professor Jacob George raised concerns over the trial
|MHRA
The trial was set to start in April and involve some 226 children, some as young as eight, who believe they are transgender, but was indefinitely banned by the Health Secretary after the Commission on Human Medicines said it posed “an unacceptable safety risk” to children.
Professor George, a professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Dundee, started work at the MHRA in January, reportedly playing a key role in raising serious safety and ethical concerns about the trial.
The trial was then paused while discussions between the MHRA and Kings College London took place about the concerns.
Since then, concerns have been raised about Professor George’s posts on X last year - that he had criticised the “well-meaning idiocy” of people in the NHS denying the “basic biological fact” that gender is set at birth.
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| GETTYIn other posts, he described JK Rowling as a “treasure of our time” and said that society should not allow a “militant minority” to undermine women’s “hard fought” rights.
Announcing his removal from any further involvement in the puberty blocker trial, an MHRA spokesperson said: “With all clinical trials, the MHRA’s top priority is the safety and wellbeing of the trial participants.
"As part of that commitment, complex clinical trials are kept continuously under review and the MHRA maintains an active scientific dialogue with trial sponsors.
"The MHRA has world-class medical, scientific, and regulatory experts who work as a multidisciplinary team to provide evidence-based decisions on clinical trials.
"These experts will continue to meet with King’s College London to work through the next steps constructively.
“Following the identification of social media posts made prior to his appointment, Professor Jacob George is recused from further involvement on the Pathways clinical trial as a precaution".