the times | Monday May 23 2022 17
News
A peer at the centre of a row over an
18-year-old pupil who left her school
after questioning transgender ideology
has backed the teenager’s right to dis-
agree with her.
The baroness, whom The Times is not
naming to protect the identity of the
pupil, had engaged in an exchange of
views with the student at her private
school in October. They are said to have
disagreed over gender identity and
transgender rights.
Afterwards, it was reported that the
sixth-former was subjected to a “pile-
on” by up to 60 students and later felt
that she had been hounded out of her
school.
The peer told The Mail On Sunday: “I
spoke about a wide range of human
rights issues. One young woman chal-
lenged some of my views and was treat-
ed with the same courtesy as everyone
else who took part. I was not aware of
any consequences from our interac-
tions and thought that we had parted
Peer says pupil has right to
debate transgender views
on amicable terms.” Insisting that the
young woman had “the right to make
her views known”, the peer joined poli-
ticians and JK Rowling, the author, who
said that the girl should have been free
to argue her case.
Rowling condemned the “utterly
shameful treatment” of the sixth-
former by students gripped by “quasi-
religious fanaticism”.
On Saturday the teenager thanked
Rowling for her support and took aim at
her critics. She told The Times: “I deeply
appreciated JK Rowling’s support via
retweet, it’s an important story to get
out there.” She added, however, that she
feared the sensationalisation that had
ensued.
Nadhim Zahawi, the education sec-
retary, has described the row as “hugely
concerning” and urged the pupil to
contact him.
It is understood that the school,
which The Times is not naming, dis-
putes the version of events outlined in
the media.
Gender neutral bill, page 26James Beal Social Affairs Editor
Sky’s the limit The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s Avro Lancaster, built almost
exactly 77 years ago, is taken through its paces over RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire
CLAIRE HARTLEY/BAV MEDIAAn anti-woke TV presenter said that he
felt betrayed by a bishop who secretly
lobbied to stop him becoming a priest.
Calvin Robinson has been blocked as
a priest by the Church of England after
the Right Rev Rob Wickham, the
Bishop of Edmonton, privately warned
church leaders against ordaining him.
Robinson, a social commentator, was
an assistant principal at a school where
Wickham was a parent.
Robinson has now joined a break-
away conservative Christian move-
ment and plans to create a new parish
for fellow traditional worshippers. He
claims his case shows that bishops have
become gripped by fashionable opin-
ions about race and sex while those in
the pews retain more traditional values.
Robinson gained a high profile as a
black, conservative social pundit before
he gave up his roles as a teacher and De-
partment for Education consultant to
You don’t know what racism is, trainee priest told
begin a two-year course as an “ordi-
nand”, training for the priesthood at St
Stephen’s House, Oxford University, in
October 2020. He was due to be or-
dained a deacon working part-time as
assistant curate at St Alban’s Church in
Holborn, central London.
Robinson said that he was shocked to
be told in February that his ordination
was likely to be problematic. He applied
under the Data Protection Act to see
the information the church had on him.
He discovered that the Bishop of Ed-
monton had been reporting him to
church leaders since he began his stud-
ies. Robinson went on Good Morning
Britain in September 2020 to say that he
was against Black Lives Matter because
it was increasing racial tensions, and he
believed that everyone in this country
had an equal opportunity to succeed.
The same day Wickham wrote to the
Right Rev Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of
London, to “bring it to your attention... Calvin Robinson is not only a political
commentator, but he’s an ordinand and
former teacher in this area who has just
started at St Stephen’s House. Calvin’s
comments concern me about denying
institutional racism in this country.”
In December last year, Wickham
wrote to the Right Rev Emma Ineson,
Bishop to the Archbishop of Canter-
bury, and also to the Bishop of London.Wickham sent them some of Robin-
son’s tweets, adding: “These are clear
examples as to why his ordination
should be looked at very closely.”
Robinson said he felt “betrayed and a
bit heartbroken” at Wickham’s conduct.
He said: “To hear that people are cam-
paigning behind your back after you
have given them all that you have got, I
don’t know how to put it into words.”
Church sources said that Wickham’s
status as a parent at the school had no
bearing on this matter.
Robinson said that he requested a
meeting with the Bishop of London,
who told him: “Calvin, as a white
woman I can tell you that the church isinstitutionally racist.” He described her
attitude as “hushed condescension”.
The TV pundit, who now works for
GB News, accused the church of apos-
tasy by “moving away from core tenets
of the faith. They need to focus on scrip-
ture because that’s the word of God.”
He said that he had now joined the
Global Anglican Future Conference
and would be ordained to one of its par-
ishes. “My hope is to attract all the
people who feel the Church of England
doesn’t represent them because it is ob-
sessed with woke issues.”
A spokesman for the Diocese of
London said: “We wish him well in the
ministry he is now going to exercise.”Dominic Kennedy Calvin Robinson
says his ordination
was blocked by
“woke” Anglicans