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Kemi Badenoch warns ‘the usual suspects will twist the outcome to attack’ Sandi Peggie after her tribunal defeat
Kemi Badenoch said a tribunal defeat for nurse Sandie Peggie should not diminish her courage, and warned that others might use the ruling to attack her. The decision concerned Peggie’s claim that her union, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), failed to support her because of her gender-critical beliefs; it did not concern her separate case about access to women’s changing facilities.
Peggie, 53, sought help after being suspended by NHS Fife following a dispute with a transgender doctor in a women’s changing room in 2023. The tribunal found the union official who handled her complaint did not understand that Peggie’s beliefs were relevant and that she had not asked for legal assistance. Peggie previously won part of a harassment claim against NHS Fife, is appealing other findings, and her spokesman questioned whether union members should have to identify the legal basis for workplace concerns themselves.
In short
- Badenoch defended Peggie after her tribunal loss against the RCN.
- The case concerned union support and legal advice.
- Peggie is appealing findings in a separate NHS Fife case.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Peggie’s case can be seen as exposing a gap in union support: workers may not know how to frame a workplace concern in legal terms, and the tribunal found the official did not recognise that her beliefs were relevant. Supporters may argue that unions should help members identify and pursue relevant protections, particularly in complex disputes, and that her partial success against NHS Fife underlines the seriousness of her concerns.
The case against
The tribunal found that the union official did not understand the beliefs were relevant and that Peggie had not asked for legal assistance, so the ruling does not establish that the RCN deliberately withheld support because of her views. A reasonable defence of the union is that its duties depend partly on what a member raises and requests, and that this case concerned union support rather than the separate dispute over changing-room access.
Explained simply
Sandi Peggie is a nurse who was suspended by NHS Fife after a dispute with a transgender doctor in a women’s changing room in 2023. The episode led to separate legal claims involving her employer and her union, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).
The RCN case concerned whether the union failed to support Peggie because of her gender-critical beliefs, which include the view that sex cannot be changed. It was separate from her dispute over access to women’s changing facilities, and from her claim against NHS Fife. Kemi Badenoch is the Conservative Party leader; her comments refer to concerns about how the tribunal decision may be used in public debate.