Scientist at Porton Down research center pushed out due to management’s strong support for transgender rights wins legal battle after two years

A two-year legal battle has been won by an analyst employed at a secretive government establishment. His victory comes after asserting that his departure from the job was a result of his ‘gender-critical’ views.

Father-of-four Peter Wilkins, 43, worked for the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) at Porton Down in Salisbury, Wiltshire. 

The institution focuses on creating technology that is crucial to the national security of Britain. This involves developing defenses against chemical and biological dangers such as Ebola, plague, and anthrax. It also works towards ensuring that the UK’s military can take advantage of the most recent advancements in technology and science.

Mr. Wilkins, who is both an engineer and an analyst, has dedicated 15 years to working at DSTL. During this time, he was temporarily stationed in Afghanistan to provide support for operations there and also at the Royal Navy’s Maritime Warfare Centre in Fareham.

In 2020 he moved to the MOD’s Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) as an ‘Innovation Partner’ but resigned in November 2022, claiming a hostile, intimidating and degrading work environment. 

An employment tribunal found that he faced harassment and discrimination as a result of his ‘gender-critical’ views, which include a belief in the immutability of ‘biological sex’, The Times reported. 

In one incident, Mr Wilkins, a Christian, was flagged for liking a post on LinkedIn by the charity Sex Matters, with a colleague informing him that gender-critical beliefs were ‘an ideology’ and saying he should be reported to security and HR.

While no action was taken against Mr Wilkins following that exchange, the analyst said he was shocked to be scrutinised ‘in the same way as if I was expressing support for the provisional IRA or al-Qaeda’.

Analyst Peter Wilkins, 43, worked at the top secret Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) at Porton Down in Salisbury, Wiltshire

Mr Wilkins resigned from his role at Portland Down (pictured) in November 2022, claiming a hostile, intimidating and degrading work environment as a result of his ‘gender-critical’ views – which he says are protected by the Equality Act 2010

The panel, overseen by employment judge Gary Self, sitting at Southampton, also heard that Mr Wilkin’s colleagues branded him ‘sad and pathetic’, ‘transphobic’ and ‘a rubbish employee’ due to his beliefs on gender.  

The tribunal uncovered what it described as a ‘clear hostile animus’ against gender-critical thinking at DSTL, which ultimately caused Mr Wilkins to leave his role. 

Speaking after the verdict, Mr Wilkins said: ‘It’s a scientific organisation, so it shouldn’t be unacceptable to use the phrase biological sex. 

‘I was never looking for DSTL to endorse my beliefs, or for anything to be said against people on the other side of the debate. But it just felt very one-sided.’

‘And it was pretty hurtful, really, having spent 15 years working for DSTL on some things which were high-security, to be told that we think you’re a security risk because you have these fairly normal, run-of-the-mill, factual beliefs about sex and genders.’

Mr Wilkins case was taken up by the Free Speech Union, who paid all his legal fees. 

Lord Young of Acton, the Free Speech Union’s general secretary, told MailOnline: ‘Peter Wilkins was treated abominably by a small minority of his colleagues – and one colleague in particular – because he had the temerity to stand up for his belief in the biological reality of sex. 

‘The hounding of people who express gender-critical beliefs by woke activists, often claiming to stand up for ‘inclusion’, is extremely common in the public sector, judging from how many cases of this nature the Free Speech Union has taken on. 

An employment tribunal ruled that senior officials at DSTL had allowed their views to obscure the fact that gender-critical views may be protected by the Equality Act 2010

‘The only way to stop it is if brave people like Peter refuse to take it lying down.

‘I hope that in light of this strongly-worded judgement, the Ministry of Defence makes it clear that there’s no place for this kind of behaviour in the department. 

‘Civil servants have a duty to be politically impartial and that’s not compatible with being a workplace advocate for radical progressive ideology.’

The employment tribunal warned that senior officials at DSTL had allowed their views to obscure the fact that gender-critical views may be protected by the Equality Act 2010.

This is a grey area of law because while the ‘philosophical beliefs’ are protected, the way such beliefs manifest themselves may not be – for example in the case of hate crimes. 

Employers also have to balance the rights of gender-critical speech against the rights of employees not be discriminated against on the basis of gender reassignment.

The panel also heard how DSTL employees would use an internal blog to make negative references to gender-critical philosophy, with at least one other worker reported to have departed due to a ‘spat’ on the blog. 

When the neuroscientist Sophie Scott was awarded the Royal Society’s Michael Faraday prize in August 2021, one employee wrote that it was ‘pretty disheartening’ since she was ‘well known for her non-inclusive views on trans and non-binary people’. 

DSTL’s high containment lab building at Porton Down, where staff work on countermeasures against chemical and biological threats including Ebola , plague and anthrax

Mr Wilkins voiced his belief to moderators that this was ‘deeply unfair’ to Ms Scott and created the impression that those with ‘gender-critical’ beliefs did not warrant recognition for their work. 

The following month another a series of blog posts appeared, with one calling gender-critical beliefs ‘abusive’ and ‘bigotry’ and another describing those who espouse such views as leading ‘sad pathetic little lives’. 

Mr Wilkins explained to HR officials that his beliefs were protected under the Maya Forstater ruling and that such posts would not be allowed if they targeted any other protected belief or religion.  

Instead management were loathe to intervene for fear of upsetting Prism, the DSTL sexual orientation and gender identity network, a powerful force within the organisation’, the panel heard.   

The tribunal ruled that Mr WIlkin’s resignation was a case of ‘constructive dismissal’. 

Constructive dismissal occurs when an employee resigns because their employer’s actions make continued employment intolerable, effectively forcing them to leave, and the employee can then claim unfair dismissal. 

Mr Wilkins said he had spoken out in part because he claimed the ideology of gender identity had had a negative impact on DSTL’s work, including the provision of body armour that fit neither men or women – although MailOnline was not able to verify that specific claim. 

Damages have yet to be awarded in the case, although they are expected to be substantial – although the panel did rule that the actions taken against Mr Wilkins did not constitute ‘victimisation’. 

A DSTL spokeswoman said: ‘We will review the judgment and following that we will look to take any appropriate actions. We cannot make any further comment on individual cases.’