Bid to block gender case streaming live

NHS Fife has been blasted by JK Rowling after lodging a legal bid to block the public from tuning in to the conclusion of the Sandie Peggie employment tribunal.

- By David Walker

The landmark case is set to restart in July, with the first two weeks of hearings in February streamed live online from the courtroom in Dundee.

NHS Fife is claiming this led to “technical issues and interruptions”, which it says caused “significant delays” to proceedings.

The health board also wants to stop anybody from live-tweeting updates about the case on X, as it claims there were “inaccuracies” in the coverage.

Judge Sandy Kemp will decide on the application at a closed hearing on Tuesday, April 15.

The case involves a veteran nurse who is suing NHS Fife for harassment after being forced to share a changing room with a biologically male medic, Dr Beth Upton.

Ms Peggie confronted him about using the female-only facilities at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy and was suspended from her work. In response to the latest move by NHS Fife, Rowling — a leading campaigner for women’s rights — was typically acerbic.