iStockA transgender rights group has lost its case to have a gay rights organisation stripped of its charitable status in what is believed to be the first case of its kind in the UK.
Mermaids, which supports transgender, non-binary and gender diverse children and their families, had appealed against the decision of the Charity Commission to grant LGB Alliance charitable status in 2021.
It is thought to be the first time in the UK that a charity has sought to have the charitable status of another removed.
A two-judge panel at the General Regulatory Chamber in London ruled in a brief online hearing on Thursday that the appeal was dismissed.
Judge Lynn Griffin said: “The appeal in this case is dismissed. We have dismissed this appeal because we have decided that the law does not permit Mermaids to challenge the decision made by the Charity Commission to register LGB Alliance as a charity.”
LGB Alliance described itself as a charity which promotes the rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual people “on the basis of sex rather than gender and believes that gender transition is largely driven by homophobia”.
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