Thousands of trans activists protest in 'emergency demonstration' against Supreme Court gender ruling in London

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Thousands of trans rights protesters have gathered in central London days after a Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman.

Trans rights groups, trade unions and community organisations came together for what was billed as an ’emergency demonstration’ in Parliament Square.

Activists demanded ‘trans liberation’ and ‘trans rights now’, with some waving flags and holding banners.

This means transgender women with a gender recognition certificate can be excluded from single-sex spaces if ‘proportionate’.

The Government said the unanimous decision by five judges brought ‘clarity and confidence’ for women and service providers, while a Labour Party source said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had brought the party to a ‘common sense position’ on the subject from an ‘activist’ stance.

The ruling means trans women cannot use single-sex female toilets, changing rooms or compete in women’s sports, according to the head of Britain’s equalities watchdog.

Among the groups supporting the London protest are Trans Kids Deserve Better, Pride in Labour, the Front for the Liberation of Intersex Non-binary and Transgender people (Flint) and TransActual.

Thousands of trans rights protesters have gathered in central London days after a Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman

Trans rights groups, trade unions and community organisations came together for what was billed as an ’emergency demonstration’ in Parliament Square

Pictured: Trans activists stand on a platform as they protest the Supreme Court ruling in London today

Activists demanded ‘trans liberation’ and ‘trans rights now’, with some waving flags and holding banners

In a long-awaited judgment delivered on Wednesday, the UK’s highest court confirmed the terms ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ in the 2010 Equality Act ‘refer to a biological woman and biological sex’, Pictured: Members of For Women Scotland Susan Smith and Miriam Caulde at the Supreme court

Pictured: Activists hold signs that read: ‘Life feels like a black mirror episode right now’ and ‘Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful’

A rally and march organised by Resisting Transphobia will also take place in Edinburgh on Saturday afternoon.

Avery Greatorex, co-chair of Pride in Labour, told the PA news agency: ‘Not a single trans person or trans organisation was represented in that case, and so we weren’t given an opportunity to have a seat at the table which is obviously a very concerning thing for our community when decisions are being made without us.

‘So the protest was organised to put pressure on the Government, on the public to act. To be able to secure the rights of transgender people and to secure those protections, we need legislative power and we need lobbying power.’

Asked whether further protests could take place in the future, she added: ‘All across the country there are really scared trans people, and this ruling almost gives transphobic organisations permission to go even further, because they’ve got a legal precedent to do so.

‘There isn’t really much of a choice but to keep acting and to keep protesting, so it is very possible that this does not stop until the community has the protections it needs.’

A spokesperson for Trans Kids Deserve Better said: ‘The transmisogyny that led to this court ruling is unacceptable. Though this ruling has brought another wave of fear to the trans community, we will continue to fight for our rights and freedoms.

‘When you attack trans women you attack all trans people and all women. Our rights do not oppose each other, they go hand in hand, and we will keep fighting until we’re all free.’

It comes after Transgender celebrities and activists have vowed to defy the Supreme Court’s gender judgment by ignoring any new rules on single-sex bathrooms that are introduced as a result. Ant Lexa (pictured), who plays Abbi Montgomery in Netflix series Sex Education, described feeling ‘heartbroken’

Pictured: Trans rights activists protesting The supreme Court judgement today

Trans influencers railed against the judgment on social media by posting videos of their horrified reactions, with one – Bel Priestly (pictured) – telling her 1.4million followers that Britain was ‘going backwards’

Heather Herbert (pictured), a trans campaigner and former Labour MSP candidate, claimed her community were ‘under attack’

In Edinburgh demonstrators will gather at the foot of the Mound (picture) before marching to the UK Government building

Speakers from across the Labour movement and trans activist networks are expected to address the crowd at the London demonstration.

A spokesperson for the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), who were named among the protest’s supporters, said: ‘We have not authorised the use of our logo on any materials relating to this demonstration and we have not taken any position on this event.

‘RMT supports the Equality Act which provides protections for women and trans people facing discrimination and we have a proud history of fighting all forms of oppression both in Britain and internationally.’

The Edinburgh march will see demonstrators gather at the foot of the Mound before marching to the UK Government building.

In an Instagram post ahead of the protest, Resisting Transphobia said the ruling was ‘a sham that legitimises the hate movement to force trans people out of public life, and is an attack on everyone’s freedom and autonomy’.

Crowds of people cheered and broke into song after the ruling was handed down

The judgement was celebrated by women’s rights groups who opened a bottle of champagne. Pictured: Susan Smith (centre left), Marion Calder (centre right) and Helen Joyce (right)

It comes after Transgender celebrities and activists have vowed to defy the Supreme Court’s gender judgment by ignoring any new rules on single-sex bathrooms that are introduced as a result.

Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) chairwoman Baroness Kishwer Falkner has described the judgment as ‘enormously consequential’ and promised to pursue organisations which do not update their policies.

But it provoked a furious reaction from trans influencers, who vowed to continue using single-sex bathrooms.

After the ruling, a trans Twitter personality calling herself Tiffany Jones vowed to continue using the women’s bathroom because she is still a woman. In a now-deleted video, another trans woman suggested that she would continue using the women’s bathroom because the public would be unable to tell her biological identity.

Married at First Sight star Ella Morgan declared, ‘I still myself as a woman, whether I am on paper or not’. The 31-year-old claimed that trans people are now bearing the brunt of the damage caused by the likes of rapist Isla Bryson.

‘I hate to say this, but for the first time since I have had that title and role I actually do feel nervous and scared not only for myself but for the community because it’s the unknown,’ she told Good Morning Britain.

Former Labour MSP candidate Heather Herbert claimed trans people are now ‘under attack’.

What does the Supreme Court gender ruling mean?

What did the Supreme Court rule?

The Supreme Court ruled the terms ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex.

What does it mean for single sex spaces?

The court’s decision will have huge consequences for how single-sex spaces and services operate across the UK, experts said today.

The written Supreme Court judgment gives examples including rape or domestic violence counselling, refuges, rape crisis centres, female-only hospital wards and changing rooms.

The court ruled that trans women with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) can be excluded from single-sex spaces if ‘proportionate’.

The government said the ruling ‘brings clarity and confidence, for women and service providers such as hospitals, refuges, and sports clubs’.

What does it mean for employers?

Employment experts say it will provide companies with greater ‘clarity’ over single sex spaces for their staff.

Lara Brown, senior Research Fellow in the Culture and Identity Unit at Policy Exchange, said a trans woman with a GRC who is excluded from single-sex spaces cannot say she is being discriminated against as a woman.

She explained: ‘This ruling makes it legal for any space that wants to be single sex to exclude biological men.’

Could employers still be at risk of discrimination?

The Supreme Court made it clear that trans people are protected under the gender reassignment provisions in the Equality Act and will be able to bring claims if they are discriminated or harassed.

Experts say a trans woman will be able to bring a sex discrimination claim if they are disadvantaged because they are perceived to be a woman or because they associate with a woman.

Rob McKellar, legal services director at Peninsula, said failure to be an inclusive workplace, regardless of any protected characteristics, could result in a discrimination claim.

What does the ruling mean for competitive sports?

In recent years, many sports have cracked down on rules around transgender athletes at the elite level.

Athletics, cycling and aquatics are among those who have banned trans women from taking part in women’s events.

The UK government said it hopes the decision will provide clarity for sports clubs.

Although today’s ruling did not concern sport directly, former Olympian Sharron Davies welcomed the decision, saying it was important to ‘define what a woman is’.

Could a pregnant woman with a GRC be entitled to maternity leave?

Experts said today that the ruling that only women can become pregnant shows a trans man (biological woman) would be able to take maternity leave, while a trans woman (biological man) would not.

Jo Moseley, an employment law specialist at national law firm Irwin Mitchell, said: ‘The Supreme Court acknowledged that only women can become pregnant. Therefore a trans man (a biological woman who identifies as a man) can take maternity leave.

‘Had the court reached a different decision, it’s possible that trans men with a GRC wouldn’t have been entitled to protection in relation to pregnancy under the characteristics of ‘pregnancy or maternity’.’

In a BB interview after the ruling, Herbert asked: ‘Do you think I should be allowed in the women’s toilets? If I’m not, if you’re implying that I shouldn’t, that would mean that I don’t have any ability to be in public life at all. I can’t go to work because you’re saying that I can’t use the loo at work.’

TikToker @witchoteast, a trans woman, said that as a protest she would not be ‘visiting all the men’s bathrooms.’

Meanwhile, trans influencers railed against the judgment on social media by posting videos of their horrified reactions, with one – Bel Priestly – telling her 1.4million followers that Britain was ‘going backwards’.

Ant Lexa, who plays Abbi Montgomery in Netflix series Sex Education, described feeling ‘heartbroken’.

The Sex Education star is one of the most prominent public figures to have spoken out against the judgment.

‘Getting myself out of bed this morning was hard after receiving this news,’ she told Channel 4 News.

‘I am, first and foremost, a woman. That doesn’t feel like some political stance. It just feels like who I am. And it has always felt like who I am.

‘So not being recognised within law, especially a law that is designed to protect us, and that was why it was there, just feels terrifying.

‘Not even about today, but the precedent that it’s setting for not just the UK, but across the world. It just has left me feeling unprotected.’

Also speaking out was Rose Schmits, an artist from Channel 4 reality series The Great Pottery Throw Down, who declared she would ‘p*** on the steps of Downing Street’ before she used a men’s toilet. She also shared a photo of a ceramic bowl with a caption reading: ‘Emergency trans toilet’.