Charity cancels choir at the London Marathon over its founder's gender-critical views

Max Thompson, Campaigns Officer

30 April 2026

A charity cancelled — and later reinstated — a choir that was due to perform on the sidelines of the London Marathon, citing the gender-critical views of its founder.

The Singing Striders is a group that has performed frequently over the years to raise the spirits of runners, including at the London Marathon without incident. A leading disability charity, Scope, extended an invitation to the group to perform at this year's event.

The choir had been practising for months and were due to perform an array of sing-along pop songs from 8:30am to 1pm, with only minor travel expenses covered by Scope. All was well until last Tuesday, when Janet Murray, the group's founder, received an email informing her that the choir was no longer welcome. The reason was her lawful gender-critical beliefs.

Janet was told that her worldview conflicted with Scope's "commitment to diversity and inclusion". Charity bosses also told her that they were concerned "because we don't agree with your views", and the chief executive informed her that her presence would be a "distraction". The irony that this charity purportedly places inclusivity at its core has not been lost on us.

As a writer and journalist, Janet has publicly expressed concerns about biological males competing in women's sport but has always maintained that the choir is her hobby — one where she leaves her views and politics firmly at the door.

The decision is believed to have stemmed from just two anonymous complaints. Initially, Scope doubled down, stating that it is "committed to the equality and inclusion of trans and non-binary disabled people" and that its decision "reflects where we stand as an organisation and our commitment to our colleagues, volunteers and supporters".

John McLachlan, the chief executive of Scope, said: "Concerns were raised to us about the views of the founder and director of Singing Striders, a choir who were due to volunteer to perform for us at the London Marathon. After consideration, we took the decision to not have their choir perform on our behalf.

"We understand and respect the right for people to hold different views about inclusion. At Scope, we are committed to the equality and inclusion of trans and non-binary disabled people. We have trans and non-binary colleagues, volunteers and supporters.

"Scope is committed to equality and inclusion. Our EDI policy sets out our commitment to be an inclusive employer and inclusive charity."

Gender-critical beliefs are protected under the Equality Act 2010 and were reaffirmed by last year's Supreme Court ruling, yet individuals being penalised for holding them remain the largest category of complaints at the Free Speech Union.

Last year, in an episode that shocked the UK and even reached the attention of the Trump administration, the Irish comedian and co-writer of Father Ted, Graham Linehan, was arrested at Heathrow Airport by armed police officers over three gender-critical posts on X.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Janet said: "When cancel culture finds its way into something as joyful as a choir singing for marathon runners, it's a sobering reminder of how insidious it can be. My choir exists to lift people up, helping them through the hardest moments as they raise money for charity. I've run the London Marathon myself, and I know how much that support means."

On Saturday evening — the night before the Marathon — Janet received a personal email from the chief executive of Scope restoring the invitation. The charity had already published a statement acknowledging that Janet's views were perfectly lawful and separate from the choir, while describing them as "highly polarising" and potentially "deeply upsetting and alienating".

John McLachlan said: "On reflection, we would like to restore our invitation to the choir to attend the marathon tomorrow and perform for runners if they choose to do so.

"We accept that the choir as a group does not promote a specific viewpoint and that the performance in itself doesn't undermine our values.

"This decision has been made without prejudice and reflects our appreciation of the right of individuals to hold protected beliefs under the Equality Act 2010.

"Gender-critical views are highly polarising and we are sensitive to the fact that for some of our valued members, supporters and colleagues, gender-critical beliefs may be deeply upsetting and alienating."

Although Scope reversed its decision, all but one of the original singers had by then decided not to attend. Janet's fellow choir members were understandably concerned by Scope's initial conduct and anxious about what their association with a gender-critical woman might mean for them — not least the prospect of abuse from trans activists, something Janet has experienced herself over the past 18 months.

In the end, Janet performed with just one original member, joined by a number of last-minute volunteers who signed up after she put out a call to action on X. The choir sang at Mile 15 in Limehouse.

This so-called "inclusive" charity came within hours of literally silencing a choir — an authoritarian move that would have prevented a group of women from singing in public. As Janet wrote in Spiked, such treatment would not look out of place in Taliban-led Afghanistan.

Charities and public bodies cannot be permitted to cherry-pick the protected characteristics they choose to defend and promote.

The Free Speech Union was proud to have supported Janet and her choir's right to hold and express gender-critical views — and to cheer on every runner taking on those 26.2 miles.

Read more in The Telegraph.