The Gym Owner Duncan Bannatyne Opposes Allowing Men in Women’s Changing Rooms Following Supreme Court Decision

A former Dragons’ Den star and gym entrepreneur Duncan Bannatyne has said ‘no-one should ever allow men into women’s changing rooms’ amid the fallout from this week’s Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman.

Bannatyne, the owner of The Bannatyne Group which owns health clubs and spas across the UK, shared a series of gender critical posts in the aftermath of the ruling which saw judges define the meaning of a woman in equality law.

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, the ex-dragon said: ‘I hope all gym owners will join me now in agreeing that single sex spaces for women means biological women. 

‘No gym should ever allow men into women’s changing rooms.’

It comes after the UK Supreme Court was asked to rule against in a case the Scottish government brought by feminist group For Women Scotland over legislation relating to gender parity targets on company boards.

In its ruling, the court said the term ‘women’ when used in the 2010 Equality Act meant biological women, and not transgender women – even if they have undergone sex reassignment surgery.

The multi-millionaire – worth some £280million according to the Sunday Times 2018 Rich List – was joined in speaking out on the issue by other famous gender critics including the Harry Potter author JK Rowling. 

In a second tweet he called for the Prime Minister to ‘apologise’ to women after comments Sir Keir Starmer made in an 2023 interview where he said that ‘99.9 percent’ of women ‘of course do not have penises’.

Former Dragons’ Den star and gym entrepreneur Duncan Bannatyne (right) has said that ‘no-one should ever allow men into women’s changing rooms’ amid the fallout from this week’s Supreme Court ruling

Bannatyne, the owner of The Bannatyne Group which owns health clubs and spas across the UK, shared a series of gender critical posts in the aftermath of the ruling

Bannatyne, who featured on the BBC’s Dragons’ Den from 2005 to 2015, wrote on X: ‘Did our current Prime Minister once say that a woman can have a penis?

‘Will he now apologise to all women. When we say women we are referring to biological women & they don’t have penises.’

In a separate post he called the ruling a ‘great, well-deserved victory’.

The need to protect single-sex spaces including gym changing rooms and rape crisis centres is one of the issues long-used by women’s rights activists to argue that biological sex matters more than a person’s gender identity.

This week’s ruling means trans women with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) could potentially be excluded from single-sex spaces if ‘proportionate’. 

EHRC chair Baroness Kishwer Falkner yesterday claimed trans women will now be barred from female bathrooms and sport, while lawyers have suggested they could be asked to use disabled bathrooms at work.

The ruling was lauded by gender critics as a victory, despite the judges’ warnings that it should not be seen as a ‘triumph’ of one side over another.

Meanwhile, trans activists have warned the ruling could put trans people at risk and make them feel less safe as they vowed to fight on.

Bannatyne was joined by the likes of author JK Rowling in celebrating the landmark Supreme Court ruling

JK Rowling shared a photo of what appeared to be two glasses of champagne under a sunny canopy, as she toasted the decision with her husband Neil Murray

It provoked a furious reaction from trans influencers, with Married at First Sight star Ella Morgan declaring, ‘I still see myself as a woman, whether I am on paper or not’.

The 31-year-old said that trans people are now bearing the brunt of the damage caused by the likes of male rapist Isla Bryson.

‘I hate to say this, but for the first time since I have had that title and role I actually do feel nervous and scared not only for myself but for the community because it’s the unknown,’ she told Good Morning Britain.

Ant Lexa, who plays Abbi Montgomery in Netflix series Sex Education, described feeling ‘heartbroken’, while former Labour MSP candidate Heather Herbert claimed trans people are now ‘under attack’.

Meanwhile, trans influencers railed against the judgment on social media by posting videos of their horrified reactions, with one – Bel Priestly – telling her 1.4million followers that Britain was ‘going backwards’.

It was in stark contrast to the gleeful celebrations of gender critics, with Harry Potter author JK Rowling posting pictures on X of her drinking champagne and smoking a cigar from her superyacht in the Bahamas. 

It comes after EHRC chair Baroness Faulkner yesterday hinted the ramifications of the ruling could be widespread. 

She said: ‘The Supreme Court ruled that a gender recognition certificate does not change a person’s legal sex for the purposes of the Equality Act.

The outcome is set to have implications across England, Scotland and Wales

Susan Smith (L) and Marion Calder, Directors of For Women Scotland, make a statement outside the Supreme Court following the ruling

‘We are pleased that this judgment addresses several of the difficulties we highlighted in our submission to the Court, including the challenges faced by those seeking to maintain single-sex spaces, and the rights of same-sex attracted persons to form associations.’

The ECHR is expecting to lay an updated statutory code of practice before Parliament by the summer in response.

Baroness Falkner said the commission evaluates when the law is not followed by organisations and can speak to those bodies, or ‘use enforcement, compliance tools or whatever, we will be continuing to do that’.

Regarding single-sex hospital wards, she said the NHS will ‘have to change’ their 2019 policy, which says that trans people ‘should be accommodated according to their presentation’.

Scottish ministers this morning called for an urgent meeting with the UK government on the ruling’s implications.

It was Scottish legislation that was challenged in the Supreme Court over whether a trans woman should be counted in equality targets for parity for female representation on company boards. 

The Scottish Government lost its Supreme Court battle against women’s rights campaign group For Women Scotland when the UK’s highest court ruled the terms ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 ‘refer to a biological woman and biological sex’. 

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: ‘The Supreme Court judgment has given clarity between two pieces of legislation passed at Westminster and we have accepted this in full.

‘Scottish Ministers have now written to the UK Government to seek an urgent meeting to discuss the implications of the judgment, and the Social Justice Secretary will give a statement to the Scottish Parliament next week on the judgment, subject to Parliamentary approval.

‘Ministers will also meet with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) next week.

‘The Scottish Government acted in good faith in our interpretation of both the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the Equality Act 2010; and our approach was guided by the published guidance of the EHRC.

‘The Supreme Court judgment explicitly references that this stance was consistent with EHRC advice and we note that that the EHRC are now reviewing their guidance to reflect the ruling.

‘We will continue to engage with the EHRC and other stakeholders and are fully committed to protecting everyone’s rights and ensuring that Scotland remains an inclusive country.’