In BRIGHTON – The Unfolding Child Safeguarding Scandal.

*(Pictured) Lesley Hammond: “We are aware that Sam Hall has been providing bridging prescriptions, sometimes to children as young as 16. We think this is very wrong,”.*

Well, the story – first raised by parents at Cllr Sankey’s very first Full Council meeting in July 2023 – hit the national news in no uncertain terms.

Yesterday (Sat 13th) The Guardian ran ‘Schools in England and Wales using ‘gender toolkit’ risk being sued by parents’ and then today (Sun 14th) the Sunday Times ran Doctor exploits NHS loophole to prescribe hormones for children.

1. The first moment in this year long unfolding was in June when the Sunday Times ran this feature which we couldn’t help thinking had Brighton & Hove in mind when it spoke of an horrific case taking place in a southeast city. (If you have pay-wall problems I will link you to a summary at the end of this post). This article was brought to the attention of all our city councillors but the story was ignored by them and drifted into the mist.

2. On behalf of parents, I read the now infamous question to Cllr Sankey in July 2023. The question didnt become infamous (my list of parental concerns about safeguarding in schools in relation to extreme gender ideology were best described as shocking), ‘infamous’ described Bella Sankey’s description of these concerns as “baseless smears”. My question mentioned the third party provider Allsorts Youth Project.

3. In October B&H News (fearless on this issue compared to The Argus who ignored it), published ‘Parents seek apology from council leader for calling their concerns ‘baseless smears’’.
From then on a series of extraordinary and shocking incidents took place that showed how our council regards safeguarding alerts and how they feel about women. In short, safeguarding alerts on this issue = transphobia and female survivors of sexual violence who want a return to same-sex trauma counselling services = bigots. A brave article in B&H News by Jean Calder describes all these incidents in detail.

4. The publication of the ex-BBC Newsnight reporter Hannah Barnes’s paperback version of Time to Think (about the collapse of London’s Tavistock Clinic) contained an incendiary new chapter with several pages focussed on Brighton. Again, nothing from the Argus, but Jo Wadsworth at B&H News broke the news in ‘Brighton GP is using loophole to prescribe hormones to kids, book claims’.

Today (Sunday 14th April 2024) is momentous. On the back of yesterday Guardian piece (also in the Observer today) came the Sunday Times coverage of the Hove GP cited by Hannah Barnes. A protest outside the Hove clinic carried out by some brilliant and brave women was covered by reporter Rosie Kinchen.
My piece from February – that rolls out all that I knew on this unfolding scandal – will fill in some of the pay-wall gaps for you. Our city council, certain execs and pretty much every councillor (they all knew) should hang their heads in shame.