A political activist and former council leader is being investigated in relation to an alleged hate crime in York.
Linda Bellos, former leader of London’s Lambeth Borough Council, was questioned by North Yorkshire Police over comments made during an event We Need To Talk About The GRA held last November at the Doubletree Hilton on St Maurice’s Road.
The GRA stands for the Gender Recognition Act. This is the law which governs how trans people can have their gender identity legally recognised – and it is due to be reformed.
According to the Pink News, Bellos said this about transgender women at the event.
“Having born two children I think I’m physiologically, and in many other senses, a female and a woman.
“But I play football and I box, and if any one of those bastards comes near me I will take off my glasses and thump them… I am quite prepared to threaten violence because it seems to me politically what they are seeking to do is piss on women.”
The remarks were in relation to an incident in which a radical feminist was allegedly attacked by a trans activist at a rally in London.
Interviewed under caution
This angered transgendered activists. Two weeks ago, on April 21, she was interviewed under caution by police.
A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police told PinkNews: “A 67-year-old woman was interviewed under caution on April 21 in relation to a hate crime. The investigation is ongoing.”
[arve url=”https://www.facebook.com/DRradfem/videos/2049663928585874/” title=”The video of the York event” /]
Bellos has responded on her website, saying:
The police implied that my statement implied or stated I would strike back if attacked are being interpreted as capable of being for a threat to trans women, that is people who hitherto had been defined as men…
It would appear, that men who now call themselves women are entitled to threaten and dominate feminists such as myself and if we speak out of step with their utterances we are ‘transphobes’…
I have yet to hear whether the police intend to take further action against me and they are/were alarmed that I had an epileptic episode that caused the interview to be curtailed, still I await further police action with interest.
The event was originally due to take place at the Priory Street Centre in York.
But according to her video on Facebook, when orgainser Dr RadFem – real name Venice Allan – arrived there she was told by the trustees that “they’d been receiving harrassment”.
So they decided they were going to cancel the event “because they didn’t want the harrassment, they didn’t want the headache, they didn’t want the potential danger that trans activists bring” to a radical feminist event.
But the Doubletree Hilton had welcomed them and treated them very well.