Sharron Davies supports campaigners calling for the sacking of Sport England’s diversity boss
Released: 7:49 p.m. EDT, Oct. 22, 2022 | Updated: 7:49 p.m. EDT, Oct. 22, 2022
Sport England are facing calls to sack their diversity champion over his role in an “Orwellian nightmare” that nearly cost a dedicated social worker her 20-year job.
Olympic swimming star Sharron Davies joined free speech and women’s rights campaigners last night calling for the sacking or resignation of Sport Quango’s diversity boss Aedan Wolton.
Mr Wolton, whose taxpayer-funded mission is to fight “inequalities” in sport, had accused a former colleague, Rachel Meade, of making “transphobic” posts on her private Facebook page.
Last night Sharron Davies MBE said Mr Wolton’s role in Ms Meade’s ordeal meant he should be dropped from his job as strategic head, equality at Sport England
She had shared links to news articles, including The Mail on Sunday, on transgender issues, as well as blogs and petitions surrounding the national debate on whether people should be allowed to self-identify their gender.
Mr Wolton’s only complaint to regulator Social Work England resulted in the mother-of-two being suspended for a year from her job at Westminster City Council.
She also faced being struck off by the watchdog at a practice eligibility hearing.
A court case hung over her for almost two years.
Aeden Wolton, whose taxpayer-funded mission is to fight “inequalities” in sport, had accused a former colleague, Rachel Meade, of making “transphobic” posts on her private Facebook page
In a humiliating descent, Social Work England last week dropped its case against the 54-year-old, who said the “last two years have been nothing short of an Orwellian nightmare for me and my family”.
She added: “My apparent crime was to share some news articles and petitions about the gender self-identification debate with fewer than 50 friends on Facebook. I have been wrongly accused of having vile transphobic views.’
Last night Ms Davies MBE said Mr Wolton’s role in Ms Meade’s ordeal meant he should be removed from his job as strategic head, equality at Sport England.
She said: “This person should not be employed by Sport England if they do something like this.”
Toby Young of the Free Speech Union said: “It’s ridiculous that she was sent through hell for two years over a single complaint from an ex-colleague.”
Olympic swimming star Sharron Davies joined free speech and women’s rights campaigners last night calling for the sacking or resignation of Sport Quango’s diversity boss Aedan Wolton
Mr Wolton, 37, declined to comment. At Ms Meade’s tribunal hearing last week, her lawyer, Sarah Phillimore, accused Mr Wolton of trying to ‘humiliate’ her client and of ‘sending a chilling message to any other social worker who dared to be ‘gender critical’ to hold and express views”.
Ms Meade’s solicitor Shazia Khan accused Social Work England of failing to uphold freedom of expression and urged the body to apologize to Ms Meade. It declined until last night.
Sport England said trans inclusion in sport is a “challenging and emotional area of politics, we have always understood and accepted that there is a wide range of personal views”.
Ms Meade is taking Westminster City Council to an employment tribunal over discrimination and raising funds to fight her case.
