Equality Watchdog Must Be Allowed to Advise, Government Says, After Transgender Groups Report It to UN

The EHRC is now under review by the U.N. after campaigners accused the watchdog of being politicised following its advice to define sex as biological.

Birds fly past the Elizabeth Tower, commonly known as Big Ben, in London on Feb. 1, 2017. Jack Taylor/Getty Images

The equality watchdog must be allowed to advise without intervention, the government said after the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) was put under a U.N. review following lobbying by transgender activist groups.

It comes after EHRC Chair Baroness Falkner said the commission had been targeted by campaign groups led by Stonewall after it advised the government in April, backing the idea of defining “sex” as biological sex in the UK’s equality law.