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The London Maths Society (LMS) has withdrawn its transgender participation policy after a gender-critical academic threatened to take them to court.
The row began after John Armstrong, a fellow and senior lecturer at King’s College London, threatened to sue the LMS over its recently published new transgender inclusion policy.
He argued that the policy discriminates against people who hold sexist views that gender is biological and cannot be changed.
Armstrong raised several points that were included in the society’s September commitment statement on transintegration.
A public document on the society’s website read: “The society reaffirms its strong commitment to promoting equality, promoting inclusion and protecting the rights of individuals with characteristics protected by the Equality Act 2010.
“The following commitment sets out the society’s approach to transintegration.”
Armstrong, a gender-critical academic and commentator, sent a letter to LMS councilors opposing the policy.
He argued for the restriction of free speech and himself discriminates against “gender critical” beliefs.
Armstrong said the policy, which “encouraged the use of (toilet) facilities that match a person’s verified identity,” was “clearly in defiance of the Supreme Court.”
He said in a statement to the Spectator that the LMS “have decided to write their first trans policy since the ruling, and this policy appears to be in clear violation of the court’s ruling.”
In April, the Supreme Court announced that the definition of a woman is based on “biological sex” in a landmark decision.
John Armstrong (pictured) is an academic and LMS member who threatened to sue the society over its transgender inclusion policy.
The Supreme Court judges unanimously ruled that “the terms woman and gender in the Equality Act refer to ‘biological female and biological sex'”.
Armstrong also objected to the policy’s threat of disciplinary action against members for consistently using incorrect titles, pronouns or names to refer to a trans person.
He said this warning by the LMS amounted to a “dramatic curtailment of free speech” and prevented them from making “light-hearted or joking comments” because it was too broadly worded.
But the prestigious society, founded in 1865, rejected his claims, further angering Mr Armstrong, who threatened to sue and sent them a pre-action letter.
In a dramatic twist, the LMS withdrew its commitment to transintegration last week.
In an announcement on its website last week, the LMS said: “We are committed to promoting equity and diversity so that mathematicians of all backgrounds are treated with dignity and respect.
“Based on legal advice, we have retracted our recent statement. We remain committed to supporting our trans members in the best way possible.
“However, the practical implications of the judgment in For Women Scotland are unclear and, like many other organisations, we await further guidance from the EHRC.
“We will continue to support all members of the math community, including our LGBTQIA+ colleagues.”
Armstrong told the Daily Mail he was “very pleased that the LMS has seen sense and withdrawn this policy”.
“It’s disappointing that their latest message highlights their support for LGBTQIA+ colleagues, but does nothing to reassure the people they’ve discriminated against – women and gender-critical people,” she said.
“If they don’t acknowledge that they’ve failed women, the LMS risks sending the message that women don’t count.”
Armstrong added: “It’s ridiculous that I had to become a lawyer. Academia needs to start following the law.
The club has not confirmed whether it will issue an amended statement.
The LMS is a major mathematical society in the UK, publishing journals, delivering lectures, contributing to government policy and strategy and awarding research grants.