On 31 May 2022 the CPS made an exciting announcement: the appointment of a new “Speak Out Champion”. The purported aim was to improve confidence amongst employees at the CPS to speak “openly about their experiences”, to help the CPS uphold its organisational values “to treat everyone with respect”, and — ominously — “as part of the CPS’s continued cultural drive to embed EDI” (Equality Diversity and Inclusion) throughout the workforce. This position is well remunerated with public money: £31,304 for four days work a month. 

Few could argue with a drive to promote “respect for all” or pay people a fair wage for helping that drive. But the appointment of Sophie Cook as the “Champion” does not inspire confidence that “all” really means “all” or that this is money well spent. 

Ms Cook is a transwoman, active over many years as a “transgender rights campaigner” and even taking a place in the Jo Cox Women in Leadership Programme. 

To top it all off, Sophie took a place in the Jo Cox Women In Leadership Programme. This scheme is for women, it is not for men – what kind of man doesn’t understand or respect this? It’s sacrilege. pic.twitter.com/OMH40EkeVX

— Girls To The Front (@obsolete__units) May 31, 2022

In 2019 Ms Cook organised “pronoun stickers” for children in Brighton and Hove, mindful of the harm that “wrong pronouns” can do. Ms Cook is clearly less delicate around the feelings of women who object to being referred to in dehumanising terms, however. The word “terf” has been accepted in many courts as a derogatory term, but the new “EDI champion” is not shy of deploying it in various tweets:

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.

— Sophie Cook (@sophiecooktalks) September 7, 2021

Ms Cook also regards the LGB Alliance as a “hate group”: 

Okay there’s in fact a lot more, and it’s alarming. @MaxHillQC pay attention, you have serious questions to answer.

Sophie, who is straight, regards @ALLIANCELGB as a hate group. Your new EDI hire considers that LGB people have no right to organise for their own interests. pic.twitter.com/ZNEnI1k5L2

— Girls To The Front (@obsolete__units) May 31, 2022

I suggested politely via Twitter to Ms Cook that perhaps the CPS had more significant operational priorities than seeking to “embed” a particular political ideology amongst its workforce. I was immediately blocked. Max Hill QC the DPP also tweeted his congrats but wouldn’t allow anyone to reply to his tweet. I asked a few questions by the medium of quote tweeting — for example what would happen to any CPS employee who objected to being called a “terf”? I didn’t expect an answer and none came. 

Dear Max. What would happen to a female member of the CPS workforce who objected to you new ‘Speak Out Champion’ referring to her in this derogatory way? Would she be heard? Or sacked? https://t.co/T9FB7X0zKI pic.twitter.com/EePt6HhQFh

— Sarah Phillimore (@SVPhillimore) May 31, 2022

It is particularly disappointing seeing our country’s independent prosecuting authority adopt this kind of performative “inclusion”. In reality, it is promoting the political ideology that elevates gender identity expression above the protected characteristic of sex.

The CPS has already sustained reputational harm over ideology

It is not very kind of me to point out that diversity and inclusion are unlikely to be served by appointing another white, middle aged man as their champion — but I have no legal or moral obligation to be “kind” about any of this, and I certainly have no inclination. The CPS has already sustained serious and expensive reputational harm over their fealty to this ideology. It has endorsed unlawful criminal charges against Kate Scottow to deny her Article 10 rights, and spent large sums of public money to collaborate with Stonewall on hate crimes guidance for schools — which was so incoherent and so clearly unlawful, it was hastily pulled at the first whiff of a judicial review.

It is high time for the terms “Equality, Diversity and Inclusion” to be reclaimed. If you really mean to be their champion, then you must accept that “EDI” goes beyond promoting acceptance of different skin colours and sexual orientation. It encompasses genuine acceptance and protection of a plurality of views. We have fundamental legal rights to express our views on matters of significant public interest. It should cause us all serious concern to think the CPS in particular isn’t our champion.