Colonel 'forced out of Army' after stating 'men cannot be women.'
Kelvin Wright says he had to resign following warning from junior officer that his views could be at odds with MoD transgender policy
A colonel has claimed he was forced to quit the Army after he was criticised for stating that “men cannot be women”.
Dr Kelvin Wright, 54, had been a Reservist commanding officer with 14 years’ unblemished service, including two tours in Afghanistan, before his “honour was attacked” with a transphobia complaint and an investigation he described as “hellish”.
In May, he shared a post on his private Facebook account from Fair Play for Women, a campaign group that works with governing bodies to preserve women’s sport for those born female, which consisted of a quote from Helen Joyce, a feminist campaigner backed by the author JK Rowling.
The quote, shared without any additional comment, said: “If women cannot stand in a public place and say ‘men cannot be women’, then we do not have women’s rights at all.”
This prompted a junior officer to warn him that his gender-critical views could be at odds with Ministry of Defence transgender policies, before what Dr Wright calls the Army’s “LGBT champions” allegedly drew up a seven-page dossier about his “substandard behaviour” – which he was not allowed to see.
A formal Army investigation was opened in May that could have led to him being formally dismissed or censured under the Major Administrative Action process, through which he has been asked to make a statement.
Dr Wright, who led a team of 60 troops in 306 Hospital Support Regiment alongside working as an NHS intensive care consultant, has this month felt forced to retire six years earlier than planned, slashing his total Army pension in the process.
He is being supported by the Free Speech Union, which has appointed an employment barrister to defend him, as the investigation is still ongoing.
Dr Wright told The Telegraph: “This attack on my honour made my position completely untenable. I could no longer remain in an Army which treated its officers with such disrespect.
“What message does it send to women in the Army, that merely for noting the existence of women and women’s rights even a colonel can be placed under investigation? I therefore feel there is no other choice but to make this matter public.
“It makes you wonder who is running the Army: the Chief of the Defence Staff, or Stonewall?”
He said too many within the Armed Forces “all love the idea of getting onto Stonewall’s list of top employers” and some Army LGBT champions “can’t see two sides to an argument”.
Saying he is now “taking the gloves off” because “I want my name cleared, my honour cleared”, he added: “This is about freedom of speech and protection of women – there is nothing that ever says I have been anti-trans or anti-LGBT at all... I have never let any of my beliefs interfere with my command.
“As a commanding officer, I annually teach my soldiers about moral courage, doing the right thing and treating others with respect. Someone with a bit of moral courage could have said this is absolutely trivial, this should be dismissed early on and we should get on with the business of war-fighting, should it ever happen.”
‘Absolutely disgraceful’
Toby Young, general secretary of the Free Speech Union, said: “The way in which Dr Wright has been treated is absolutely disgraceful. The freedom to express your views in the public square is a fundamental human right that the British Army is supposed to be defending, not attacking.
“Continuing to hound him following his resignation just adds insult to injury. The Army should apologise, thank him for his service and close the case.”
Dr Wright, who has been called “one of the best” and “inspirational” by his troops, served in the Army Reserve for 14 years.
During his reservist career he undertook two tours, serving in Afghanistan twice at the height of British combat operations, including on medical evacuation helicopters and as the head of a military emergency department.
It is the latest diversity row to hit the Armed Forces, after the RAF instructed staff to stop choosing “useless white male pilots” and the Navy said it was considering multiple ID cards for those who are gender-fluid.
An Army spokesman said: “We are aware of a post shared by a service person to their own personal social media account which may have caused offence. We are not prepared to comment further as this is an ongoing internal matter.” DT.
