Because it’s important that all facts are considered when making important decisions regarding the health and welfare of children, below is some information that I hope
@WesselyS, as Chair of the Oversight Board, will find of interest before proceeding with the controversial Pathways Trial.
As exposed by
@joshhowie on GBNews, there is currently a culture of suppression and silence concerning anything to do with the controversial topics of ‘sex and gender’ throughout psychological services and the academic discourse associated with it.
x.com/joshxhowie/status/1995…
This is an ongoing problem in academia further evidenced by @ProfAlicS who is now taking the drastic action of taking the University of Bristol to Court:
x.com/ProfAliceS/status/2003…
This means that important research like that of
@wontsomeonethi2 that shows that children lack adult comprehension skills is simply not getting through:
x.com/wontsomeonethi2/status…
sciencedirect.com/science/ar…
There are several reasons for this stifling of information, but I argue that one of them is because individuals who are invested in promoting the idea that humans should be facilitated to mimic the opposite sex because of psychological issues, have the ear of people like yourself and are only providing you with a one-sided point of view.
Take for example James Palmer, who has previously said "It's got to be a good thing is that there are people out there that want to explore their gender. The fact that it's in the younger age group has got to be a good thing.”
"For a young adult, to be able to come forward, to seek that expertise, earlier [rather] than much much later in life, that's got to be a good thing".
telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/06…
archive.ph/NVIN2
It is deeply concerning that the person who has been appointed to set up ‘Gender Identity Services’ in this country believes that people should be encouraged to explore the erroneous idea that humans can change sex if they mimic the opposite sex.
“Once all seven regional hubs have opened, Palmer says “we will get to where we want, which is that individuals, as soon as that [gender] incongruence starts to be truly persistent, even at a young age, will be able to get access to an NHS service”.”
theguardian.com/society/2025…
This is a political claim asserting that those who reject sexed stereotypes are somehow in need of medical interventions that facilitate mimicry of the opposite sex. It is not science. It is ideology dressed up as science.
Another example is Peter Fonagy who has said
“There is no question that the way we, as a society, respond to the sexuality or gender identity of others is often detrimental to their mental health. It is profoundly wrong that people we know and love fear rejection from their friends and families – and feel vulnerable to abuse and fear violence – simply because of their sexual or gender identity.
“Being accepted is a human need. It is not a privilege to have that need met, but a basic right, one from which all other opportunities flow. When we can all assert our sexual and gender identity, and when we have the respect we need to feel proud of who we are, we will have a fairer society.”
annafreud.org/news/new-resou…
Professor Fonagy is making a false equivalence here because he is conflating same sex attraction with those who erroneously think humans can change sex with the use of euphemisms like ‘gender identity’. Claiming to be the opposite sex is delusional, it is not the same as same sex attraction.
‘Gender identity’ is a contested notion that has not received adequate academic scrutiny. It is the belief that changing the perception of one’s sex by mimicking the other sex equates to actually changing one’s sex. Although its origins are elsewhere, it was largely promoted through psychological services via Queer ideology, which has previously been discredited by me here:
x.com/TamaraSearsUK/status/1…
It’s perhaps worth mentioning that Jeremy Clarke, the Director of
@AlbanyTrust, is also a supervisor at the Anna Freud Centre under Peter Fonagy. In his evidence to the IICSA Clarke boasted about how the Albany Trust hosted the first ever conference for those who pretend to be the opposite sex:
“We were responsible for the first international conference on psychological needs of transgender people undertaking gender transition, and support needed across the spectrum of gender identity issues, held in 1969.”
webarchive.nationalarchives.…
The ideas promoted by the Albany Trust have continually been contested by feminists, gay rights organisations, and therapists, but you won’t find hardly any of these opposing points of view in any publication associated with psychological services as there is an ongoing culture of censorship surrounding these issues as evidenced earlier.
Unfortunately, the Albany Trust has history when it comes to promoting contested narratives. Their involvement with the PIE only properly came to light because of the investigations of the IICSA:
iicsa.org.uk/reports-recomme…
Jeremy Clarke was instrumental in creating the Memorandum of Understanding Against Conversion Therapy. Originally intended to address only conversion practices concerning those who are same sex attracted, in 2017 the term ‘gender identity’ was added without discussion or debate.
spectator.com/article/the-do…
There is an ongoing dispute regarding how it came to be included. Claims from both parties to the debate can be read here:
telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10…
and here:
therapistsagainsttransphobia…
I trust I don’t have to provide you with the history concerning RCPsych’s involvement with this problematic document.
Further history which Peter Jenkins has provided can be accessed here:
x.com/judge148/status/199847…
The debates regarding the contested notions of ‘gender identity’, ‘gender dysphoria’ and ‘gender incongruence’ have never been aired. They are terms that were created by differing factions involved in promoting the idea that humans can change sex. The Pathways Trial document repeatedly conflates ‘gender identity’ ‘dysphoria’ and ‘incongruence’. Do you not find it strange that these terms are treated this way in an allegedly scientific document that permits experimentation on children?
Given that
@wesstreeting has quite clearly stated that he ‘is only following clinical advice’ it seems quite likely that the blame for any adverse effects of the trial will quite likely fall to you as Chair. Is that really a risk worth taking at a time of academic censorship on the topic? There is a lot more information waiting for you should you wish to receive it. I urge you to stop the trial going ahead or at least delay it until rigorous academic discussion and debate can occur. The lives of these children depend on it.