After recruiting a transgender activist who made offensive remarks about biological women, senior prosecutors have been chastised.
Despite earlier pushing for the word “woman” to be substituted with “womxn,” Sophie Cook, 54, has taken up a key diversity and inclusion position at the Crown Prosecution Service.
The activist has also used the abbreviation TERF — trans-exclusionary radical feminist — in multiple tweets, a loaded word aimed at women who believe sex is biological and unchangeable.
In her new £31,000-a-year role as the CPS’ ‘speak-out champion’, Ms Cook will be ‘responsible for improving confidence amongst our employees in being able to speak openly about their experiences’.
According to the CPS job advert, Ms Cook will work just four days per week and it will mostly be from home, however she is obliged to attend meetings in person if necessary.
But lawyers and campaign groups have called for reassurances that women employees who express concerns about trans activism won’t be silenced or discriminated against.
They have raised concerns that Ms Cook could use the influential role to ’embed’ her beliefs at the heart of the agency responsible for prosecuting serious crime in England and Wales.
Ms Cook describes herself as a ‘writer, speaker, actor, broadcaster and photographer’ and claims to be the ’13th most influential figure in Brighton’.
On her website, she says she is also a ‘LGBT & mental health campaigner’, a Royal Air Force veteran and ‘self-harm and suicide survivor’.
After being appointed this week, Ms Cook tweeted: ‘This is an amazing role which gives me the opportunity to make a real difference.’
However, concerns were raised over historic tweets in which Ms Cook uses the term TERF, The Times reported.
Last September, she tweeted: ‘Apart from menstruate and give birth (just to keep the TERFs happy (are they ever happy?) nothing. I may not be able to do everything well, but I could potentially do anything just as long as there isn’t a required grade.’
Ms Cook also appeared on Newsnight in 2018 where she supported replacing the word woman with ‘womxn’.
She said at the time: ‘I do wonder why people are so offended by it… actually the word was invented by feminists, they were quite happily using these words a few years ago… all of a sudden, they’re taking offence.’
We Are Fair Cop, a group of gender-critical lawyers, has demanded ‘urgent reassurance’ to ‘female gender-critical employees’ at the CPS that their ‘political belief will not leave them vulnerable to unlawful discrimination’.
Sarah Phillimore, a barrister, also tweeted: ‘What would happen to a female member of the CPS workforce who objected to [your] new ‘Speak Out Champion’ referring to her in this derogatory way? Would she be heard? Or sacked?’
A CPS spokesman told The Times the body was ‘proud to have a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. One of our core values is treating everyone with respect and all our staff must adhere to this.’
Ms Cook previously made headlines when MailOnline reported she had become the first trans person to work in the English Premier League.
She served as AFC Bournemouth’s team photographer when she made the switch from Steve to Sophie in 2016.
The following year she attempted to become the first transgender person to become an MP, when she stood for Labour in Tory safe seat East Worthing and Shoreham.