Historic judge resigned after being a trans public figure became too “political”

High Court master Victoria McCloud has resigned from her role as Britain’s only trans judge after determining her identity is simply too “political” for her to do her job effectively.

54-year-old McCloud has spent 18 years on the bench but wrote to the senior judiciary that the TERF (trans exclusionary radical feminist) movement in the nation has inhibited her from continuing to serve “in a dignified way.”

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“I am now political every time I choose where to pee,” she wrote, according to The Times.

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She added, “I have reached the conclusion that in 2024 the national situation and present judicial framework is no longer such that it is possible in a dignified way to be both ‘trans’ and a salaried, fairly prominent judge in the UK.”

She said speaking out to encourage other trans folks to become judges “came at a cost because I became a public figure and a target” and that it’s been “open season” on trans people.

McCloud transitioned in the 1990s and has made history more than once. In addition to being the country’s only trans judge, she was also the youngest person ever appointed to what was then the Queen’s Bench in 2006. She is also known for her role in high-profile cases that have involved figures like Donald Trump.

In her letter, she expressed fear that her role on the bench risks making the judiciary political.

Her announcement has left many reeling.

Attorney Harminder Bains said McCloud was “at the forefront of advancing the judiciary into the 21st century.”

Former chief crown prosecutor Nazir Afzal said McCloud is “one of the finest and fairest judges we have” and that her resignation is “desperately sad.”

The anti-trans movement in Britain has risen to prominence with TERF activists like Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, also known as Posie Parker. Parker is the founder of the anti-trans group Standing for Women.

She’s credited with popularizing the slogan “adult human female” to define womanhood after she used her Posie Parker pseudonym to create an anti-trans billboard featuring the phrase in Liverpool in 2018. She also runs the Adult Human Female online store, where she sells apparel, accessories, homeware, and even Christmas merchandise featuring anti-trans slogans.

Parker’s “Let Women Speak” traveled internationally. Her rally in Melbourne, Australia was joined by neo-Nazis who did Nazi salutes from the steps of the Victoria Capitol building. At another tour stop, Parker was doused with tomato juice by trans allies and fled the event soon after. Trans people and allies also helped shut down a transphobic event Parker tried to hold in New York City in 2022.