A senior academic has threatened legal action against the London Mathematical Society (LMS) over its new transgender-inclusion policy, accusing the organisation of discriminating against members with gender-critical views.
John Armstrong, a lecturer in financial mathematics at King’s College London, has issued a pre-action letter through lawyers claiming the policy breaches the Equality Act and restricts free speech. The guidance warns that repeatedly using incorrect titles, pronouns or names for transgender people could lead to suspension, and affirms support for individuals using facilities aligned with their “affirmed identity”.
Armstrong argues this conflicts with an April Supreme Court ruling defining sex in law, and says requiring members to use pronouns such as “they/them” or “xie/xer” is discriminatory. He further alleges the rules effectively ban humour relating to transgender issues.
LMS trustees have rejected his claims, saying pronoun use does not limit expression and that offensive conduct should not be tolerated.
