Choir launches legal action against disability charity Scope after cancellation over gender-critical views

Max Thompson, Campaigns Officer

20 May 2026

A choir has launched legal action against the disability charity Scope after its planned performance at the London Marathon was cancelled days before the event over the gender-critical views of its founder.

The Singing Striders — an amateur vocal ensemble whose members share a love of running and singing — had been invited by Scope to perform on the sidelines of this year's marathon as part of its cheer squad, supporting tens of thousands of runners over the 26.2-mile course through the capital. The choir had performed for Scope at previous marathons without incident. Days before this year's race, it received notice from Scope's chief executive, John McLachlan, that it was no longer welcome. The reason given was the gender-critical views of the choir's founder, Janet Murray.

Murray, a writer and journalist, has publicly expressed concern about the inclusion of biological males in women's sport and organisations such as the Girl Guides. Scope informed her that her presence at the marathon would be a distraction and would undermine the charity's "commitment to diversity and inclusion." She was also told that the charity was "concerned about your views because we don't agree with your views." The decision followed two anonymous complaints made to Scope about Murray's publicly expressed views.

After Murray went public with the cancellation, Scope was forced into a U-turn the night before the race. McLachlan wrote to her personally to say: "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." Murray declined. By that point she had already been required to inform the choir they had been excluded on account of her lawfully held beliefs; the damage, as she put it, had already been done. She organised an impromptu group of singers to perform independently on the day after putting out a late night post on X.

Murray and three other members of the choir are now seeking a formal apology from Scope and damages. Their lawyers argue that Murray was unlawfully discriminated against on the basis of her belief in the immutability of biological sex — a belief that constitutes a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010, confirmed as such by the Supreme Court's landmark ruling last year. They further argue that Murray's views are in the public interest, bearing directly on questions concerning the safety and dignity of women and girls.

Murray told The Telegraph: "I believe Scope unlawfully discriminated against me because of my lawfully held gender-critical beliefs. It raises much wider questions about whether women who state basic biological realities, or advocate for female-only spaces and sport, are increasingly being treated as unacceptable by organisations that claim to value equality and inclusion. I hope Scope now reflects seriously on how this situation was handled — not just for my sake, but for everyone connected with the charity, including disabled women and girls, for whom access to single-sex spaces, services and care is vital."

Gender-critical beliefs are entirely lawful and explicitly protected under the Equality Act 2010. That protection was emphatically reaffirmed by the Supreme Court last year. Despite this, individuals cancelled or penalised for holding or expressing such views remain the largest single category of cases the Free Speech Union handles. Scope's behaviour in this case — disinviting a volunteer choir on the basis of its founder's protected beliefs, in response to anonymous complaints, and without any suggestion that those beliefs were ever expressed in the context of the choir's activities — is a particularly stark example of precisely the problem.

Janet joined External Affairs Officer Connie Shaw on the latest episode of the Free Speech Union Podcast to discuss her experience. You can listen [here].

The Free Speech Union wishes Janet and the Singing Striders every success in their legal action.

Read more in The Telegraph.