Darlington NHS nurses face misconduct probe for complaining about sharing same changing room with trans colleague

Rose Henderson identifies as a female but has not undergone any physical or hormonal transition.

The nurses have filed a legal case against their employer, County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, for sexual harassment and discrimination.

They claimed they were told to "be more inclusive" and to "broaden their mindset" rather than complain.

Their tribunal will be heard later this month, but for now, the nurses face professional misconduct investigations after four complaints were made by members of the public to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho called for Wes Streeting to intervene, describing the situation as "madness".

Lawyers at the Christian Legal Centre are supporting the nurses and have submitted a detailed legal response to the NMC.

They argue that the complaints from the members of the public are ideologically driven, legally baseless and amount to unlawful victimisation.

They assert that their actions were protected under the Equality Act 2010 and the Human Rights Act, and that they acted in good faith, with legal advice and in full compliance with the NMC Code.

The NMC stated in writing that it is gathering "information and [will] assess whether the concerns raised require a full NMC investigation".

Cases with the NMC can take years to be resolved, with professionals involved worrying about the future of their careers.

Speaking on the latest developments, Ms Coutinho said: "It is beyond belief that these four remarkable nurses may now be dragged through another vexatious disciplinary process simply because they stood up against radical transgender ideology in the NHS and defended their legal right to single-sex spaces.

"Our institutions have been captured by an ideology that wants to pretend that biological sex isn't real and puts the feelings of transgender women above the rights of women to get changed in dignity, privacy, and safety.

"The Government needs to get a grip and intervene to make sure the Darlington nurses and Jennifer Melle are not punished for believing that women are women."

Ms Melle is a nurse in London who has been suspended for calling a transgender patient "Mr".

Chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, Andrea Williams, said: "It's quite something that these nurses are being disciplined for believing in biology; that men are men and women are women.

"We need to be clear that it now takes extraordinary courage just for speaking the obvious truth. They are not being targeted for misconduct, but for standing up for basic rights and safeguarding.

"The NMC must not allow itself to be weaponised as a tool of ideological enforcement. These complaints should be dismissed without delay.

"Millions of people across this country and around the world support the nurses. Yet just four misconceived complaints are enough to trigger lengthy investigations that could last for years."