Kemi Badenoch: End investigations into Darlington nurses and Jennifer Melle

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has taken up the reason behind nurses who’ve fallen foul of trans ideology within the NHS, writing to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) urging them to not take punitive motion.

Of particular interest are the Darlington nurses and Christian nurse Jennifer Melle.

The Darlington nurses took issue with being required to undress in front a female-identifying male colleague. The nurses claim they were told by hospital authorities to be more inclusive and were subsequently offered inferior facilities to vary in.

An employment tribunal ruled that the nurses were subjected to harassment and discrimination under illegal policies. Furthermore, the tribunal said the nurses were correct to boost concerns about privacy, dignity, and safeguarding to their employer.

After going public with their story, the nurses were reported to the NMC.

Jennifer Melle was also reported to the NMC following an incident wherein she declined to make use of female pronouns to discuss with a transgender paedophile who had been brought in for treatment from a men’s prison.

Melle was suspended but was later reinstated following a disciplinary hearing. She too was reported to the NMC for each the unique incident and for going public with it.

NMC investigations into Melle remain ongoing and the NMC has not ruled out pursuing investigations into the Darlington nurses.

In her letter to the NMC, Badenoch said, “Your investigations into the 4 Darlington nurses needs to be dropped in light of their exoneration. The Tribunal found they were subjected to harassment and discrimination under illegal policies and were right to talk out. It is due to this fact unclear what misconduct is now being alleged. The complaints (focused on what the nurses said relatively than the care they provided) are weak and spurious and shouldn’t be used to silence frontline nurses.”

Badenoch added, “The two cases against Jennifer Melle also needs to be dropped. No nurse should face regulatory motion for accurately describing biological sex or for speaking under whistleblowing protections. Her Trust has already found no wrongdoing and reinstated her. The proven fact that she was subjected to racial abuse while carrying out her duties raises a serious query as to why the NMC selected to pursue an investigation against her, relatively than step in earlier to support her and uphold her right to work safely and without harassment.”

She also reminded the NMC of last yr’s Supreme Court ruling that the legal definition of sex refers to biological sex and that public services needs to be arranged accordingly.