The Spectator has been reprimanded by the press regulator IPSO for calling author Juno Dawson “a man who claims to be a woman”.
The ruling is a rare finding of a breach by the press of the discrimination section (Clause 12) of the Editors’ Code of Practice. The lack of action using this clause has been a repeated point of criticism against IPSO.
New Spectator editor Michael Gove, who was not at the magazine at the time of publication, criticised IPSO’s ruling, saying: “I am in no doubt this is an outrageous decision, offensive to the principle of free speech and chilling in its effect on free expression.”
Dawson complained about a Spectator online comment piece written by Gareth Roberts, described as a “TV scriptwriter and novelist who has worked on Doctor Who and Coronation Street”, in May.
The article focused on Nicola Sturgeon’s stance on transgender rights in Scotland but wrote that she “was interviewed by writer Juno Dawson, a man who claims to be a woman, and so the conversation naturally turned to gender”.
Dawson complained that this was inaccurate as she held a Gender Recognition Certificate and was declared a woman in all legal matters by the Gender Recognition Panel.
She also said the comment was discriminatory because she “was deliberately misgendered with the intention being to offend her”.
IPSO said Roberts’ words were “personally belittling and demeaning toward [Dawson] in a way that was both pejorative and prejudicial of the complainant due to her gender identity, and was not justified by the columnist’s right to express his views on the broader issues of a person’s sex and gender identity given that this targeted her as an individual”.
The Spectator’s had argued it had not breached Clause 12 because the reference to Dawson’s gender was “was relevant, as it put the remarks made by Ms Sturgeon into context”. It “did not consider this to be either prejudicial or pejorative”.
Clause 12 of the Editors’ Code states: “The press must avoid prejudicial or pejorative reference to an individual’s race, colour, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or to any physical or mental illness or disability.
It adds that journalists should avoid mention of these characteristics unless they are “genuinely relevant” to the story.
IPSO did consider the reference to Dawson’s gender identity to have been relevant to the story “in the context of her public profile as someone who had spoken on transgender issues and in the context of the discussion of Ms Sturgeon’s views towards transgender issues – which arose within the interview the complainant had conducted” and did not find a further breach on that point.
In 2019, the regulator’s then-chairman Sir Alan Moses described the scope of the discrimination guidelines as the “greatest issue IPSO has had to grapple with”. IPSO says the discrimination rules apply only to individuals, not groups, and has refused multiple requests to alter this.
Gove’s predecessor Fraser Nelson threatened to leave IPSO last year after another rare discrimination ruling – at the time, only the third breach of Clause 12 listed on the regulator’s website. Nelson objected to a ruling against The Sun over a Jeremy Clarkson column about Meghan Markle, saying he was concerned about its implications.
Spectator vs Juno Dawson: Inaccuracy and harassment complaints not upheld
IPSO did not uphold the complaint of inaccuracy, saying: “When making its decision, the Committee had regard to the context: this was a comment piece, clearly distinguished as such by the inclusion of the columnist’s prominent byline, author’s illustration, and the tone, which expressed the author’s opinions of Nicola Sturgeon and her stance on transgender rights.
“The publication had explained that the author held gender critical views and asserted that these constituted a philosophical belief and were therefore protected under the Equality Act 2010.”
It added that the sentence in question “was sufficiently distinguished as being the columnist’s view that the complainant remained biologically male despite the transition process she had undergone rather than being a statement of fact about the complainant’s sex or gender as recognised under the Gender Recognition Act 2004”.
Dawson had also claimed the article breached the harassment clause of the Editors’ Code as she believed Roberts had pursued a campaign against her and wanted to cause her suffering and encourage others to harass her online.
However IPSO said Clause 3 “generally relates to the way journalists behave when gathering news, including the nature and extent of their contacts with the subject of the story”.
It acknowledged Dawson’s concerns but said it “did not consider that this sole brief reference, in the context of a column discussing Nicola Sturgeon’s views on gender identity, could constitute harassment under the terms of Clause 3”.
The Spectator has now published an adjudication as ordered by IPSO.
The publication had complained to IPSO’s independent complaints reviewer about how the regulator handled the complaint, but this was not upheld.
Editor Gove wrote on Tuesday that Roberts was “exercising his right to free speech and indeed expressing a view that many would consider a straightforward truth” in his piece.
He added: “Gareth Roberts’s right to see as he finds and write as he sees must be defended. It may be offensive to some and difficult for others. But as George Orwell argued: ‘If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.’”
Gove ended his piece by saying: “We will continue to give free thinkers and brilliant writers such as Gareth Roberts a platform. And we will resist any effort to pressure them into conformity with another’s morality. For The Spectator, free speech is not a cause among many others which we may champion – it is the essence of our existence. “
Read the full IPSO ruling here.
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
