Scope finally apologises to the Singing Striders choir

Max Thompson, Campaigns Officer

23 October 2026

Two days before the 2026 London Marathon, Janet Murray was informed by Scope that the choir she founded, the Singing Striders, was no longer welcome to perform on the sidelines.

The choir had performed twice before at the London Marathon as a “cheer squad” for the leading disability charity, before being sensationally dropped this year. Scope said that it had taken the decision to drop the choir because Janet, who is also a journalist, was the subject of two anonymous complaints about her public criticism of trans ideology — in other words, her lawful gender-critical beliefs.

It has now been revealed that Scope has apologised to Janet and the choir for dropping them as a result of Janet’s views. This comes after Janet and a handful of her fellow choir members took legal action against the charity with help from the Free Speech Union, arguing that they had been victims of “discrimination” by the charity as a result of her lawful and protected beliefs.

Gender-critical beliefs are, of course, completely legal. They are protected under the Equality Act 2010, and last year’s landmark Supreme Court ruling held that “sex” in that Act is defined by biology, not gender identity. Despite all that, cases involving individuals who have been silenced or punished for holding or expressing gender-critical views make up the second-largest category of cases that the Free Speech Union handles.

Scope would like to apologise to the choir for cancelling their performance. We acknowledge the decision to cancel this performance was wrong. We acknowledge that our decision was against our commitment to the Equality Act.

We recognise that Janet Murray is entitled to hold and express her lawful gender-critical beliefs. The fact Ms Murray holds these views should not have influenced our decision-making.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Ms Murray said: “We were just a group of volunteers giving our time to support a disability charity and cheer on runners.

We were about fun, friendship and making music—and you don’t have to agree on everything to enjoy those things together. I hope we can return to making music together, although I worry some members may feel too nervous to come back.

This is indeed very good news for free speech, and for those — particularly women and women’s rights campaigners — who will, we hope, be emboldened to speak up about biological sex and the rights of women and girls.

No apology can undo how upsetting this has been for both me and other members of the choir. But I am grateful to Scope for publicly acknowledging that it was wrong to cancel our performance because I expressed my lawful views.

I hope this makes other individuals and organisations think twice before ‘cancelling’ people with gender-critical beliefs.

Ms Murray did try to resolve the dispute with Scope in private before taking legal action, and indeed before she informed her fellow choir members that Scope had decided to drop them just two days before the marathon.

The Free Speech Union was delighted to have been able to support Janet and her fellow members of the choir, and Janet told The Telegraph of her appreciation of the FSU’s support. The General Secretary of the Free Speech Union, Lord Young of Acton, told The Telegraph: “I’m glad we were able to help Janet secure an apology. Organisations need to get better at balancing competing rights, not just prioritising the rights of those who shout the loudest.”

George McLellan of Sharpe Pritchard, who acted on behalf of Ms Murray and the members of the choir, said: “Janet is entitled to hold and express her lawful gender-critical beliefs, and that those views should not have influenced its decision.

Free speech is a marathon, not a sprint — and we are delighted that with the support of the Free Speech Union the Singing Striders can now get back to doing what they do best: singing from the same hymn sheet, even when they don’t all share the same views.

Read more in The Telegraph.