A trans doctor at the centre of the NHS Fife employment tribunal was compared by a lawyer to the torturer in George Orwell’s 1984.
Dr Beth Upton was likened to the novel’s antagonist O’Brien for “demanding” to be seen as a woman by colleagues at Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital.
A&E nurse Sandie Peggie is suing NHS Fife after she was suspended following a changing room row with Dr Upton on Christmas Eve in 2023.
Ms Peggie told the doctor she was uncomfortable at the two sharing a women’s only changing area.
Dr Upton was grilled on Monday by lawyer Naomi Cunningham, representing Ms Peggie, as the tribunal in Dundee entered its second week.
The medic’s use of the female changing room was approved by senior hospital staff.
But Ms Peggie and her lawyers contend this should not have been allowed due to Dr Upton being born as a man.
Ms Cunningham referenced a section in 1984 where Winston Smith, the main character, is told to say his torturer is holding up five fingers when he is actually holding up four.
The lawyer said this is intended as a moment of “ultimate submission” in the book, published in 1949 depicting a dystopian Britain ruled by a dictatorship which controls its citizens with mass surveillance and propaganda.
“Your demand of Sandie is of the same sort,” Ms Cunningham said.
She claimed Dr Upton, who identifies as female, was behaving similarly by wanting Ms Peggie to “submit” in a situation where she felt uncomfortable.
Jane Russell, representing NHS Fife and Dr Upton, said the comparison was highly offensive.
“Is my opponent really comparing Dr Upton to the torturer in 1984?” she asked.
“That’s worse than what the claimant did, comparing her to a convicted rapist.”
Last week the tribunal heard Ms Peggie compared being in a changing room with Dr Upton to trans rapist Isla Bryson being in a women’s prison.
Ms Cunningham said describing Dr Upton as a woman is “something everybody knows is false”.
Dr Upton disputed this.
“It isn’t a falsehood,” the medic told the tribunal.
“I’m certainly not asking anybody to submit to me in any capacity.
“I’m asking for a basic level of respect and dignity.”
How Dr Upton should be referred to has been a contentious part of the hearing.
In a pre-tribunal hearing it was ruled Ms Peggie and her lawyers could use male pronouns.
But Sandy Kemp, the presiding judge, admitted this would be distressing for the medic.
‘I’m not a man’
Ms Cunningham has regularly called Dr Upton a man during cross-examination.
Dr Upton said “I disagree” during one exchange when described as male.
“I’m not a man,” the medic said on another occasion. “I know we’ve covered this a few times, but I’m not.”
At one point Ms Cunningham asked: “Should we agree to differ on language?”
Dr Upton replied: “No, I don’t think we can.”
The barrister later added: “What you’re doing in objecting to the language I’ve used is seeking to assert dominance.”
The Fife doctor was quizzed by Ms Cunningham on the definition of biological sex.
Dr Upton branded the term “completely nebulous”, adding: “Biology is significantly more complex than a stick figure with trousers and a stick figure with a skirt.”
On Friday, NHS Fife was accused of being “negligent” for failing to disclose documents relating to an alleged “aborted” probe into Ms Peggie’s actions.
Exactly what happened between Dr Upton and Ms Peggie in the changing room has been disputed.
Last week Harry Potter author JK Rowling waded into the row.
We also reported how Ms Peggie’s husband was grilled on “racist” posts shared on his Facebook page when he appeared as a witness.
You can follow all the latest twists and turns here in The Courier.
The tribunal continues.
