BBC staff who were part of Pride staff group ‘were among those to complain about Martine Croxall’s eye-roll’ when she was asked to say ‘pregnant people’ instead of ‘women’ on air

BBC staff, who are part of the pride group, were among those to complain about Martine Croxall’s response to a script that referred to ‘pregnant people’.

While promoting a newscast in June this year, the news anchor changed the autosign on-air from ‘pregnant women’ to ‘women’ and raised an eyebrow at gender-neutral language.

Many people have supported Ms Croxall online, including news bosses and author JK Rowling.

There was a backlash after the company’s Administrative Complaints Unit acknowledged complaints that it had broken BBC rules and that the facial expression revealed a “controversial view of transgender people”.

Ms Croxall is now receiving support online, with some calling the BBC a ‘disgrace’ for berating her.

The Times revealed that a significant portion of the 428 complaints received by the BBC came from staff there themselves. reported.

Many are believed to come from pro-trans voices within the organisation, as well as members of the BBC Pride staff group. Although they are not thought to form part of the last 20 complaints upheld by the ECU.

A person in the BBC’s news department told the Times that the ECU decision highlighted the significant influence of pro-trans voices within the BBC.

Martine Croxall arrives at London’s Central Labor Court before a BBC pay case is decided

They said: ‘There have been complaints about Martine from members of the BBC Pride staff group. There is an acceptance that they have taken over the BBC.’

The verdict against Croxall due to his reaction to the script – understood to have been written quickly by a young producer under pressure – was described by an insider as ‘Orwellian’.

‘How did we get to a point where a woman’s statement became a crime,’ they added.

In response, MP Rosie Duffield told GB News: ‘Obviously it’s very important that we represent gay people, trans people and everyone on the spectrum, and it’s vital that we do this in an impartial way. But I think this is something very different. It feels really bad; It feels like an Orwellian policing of ordinary conversation.’

She added: ‘As a woman she probably found it very insulting to have to say ‘pregnant people’, which we all know is a completely ridiculous, made-up term. He did what I thought most people would do and got scolded for it. ‘This is so weird.’

Investigative journalist James Esses wrote on social media platform X: ‘In June the BBC’s teleprompter instructed presenter Martine Croxall to say ‘pregnant people’.

‘Today the BBC announced it had broken the rules because of its ‘facial expression’. ‘Our national broadcaster is a disgrace.’

Discussing the complaint against Ms Croxall, women’s rights campaigner Maya Forstater said: ‘You say journalists should raise their hands, but this is what happens when they do it.’

Ms Rowling reposted the clip on X and captioned it: ‘There’s a new favorite BBC presenter’

Ms Croxall’s message to supporters after she was praised on air for rejecting gender-neutral language

This week the ECU upheld complaints from 20 viewers who said Ms Croxall had ‘fallen short of their expectations of impartiality from the BBC’s presenters and journalists’.

Ms Croxall was launching a new study into the number of heat-related deaths expected during Britain’s current heatwave.

But since otocue prompted him to warn ‘pregnant people’ to be careful in the heat, he read the term first and then overruled it with a grin and raised eyebrows.

He said: ‘Malcolm Mistry, who was involved in the research, said elderly, pregnant people – women! – and those with pre-existing health conditions need to take precautions.’

Her autocorrect fix won praise from the Harry Potter author, who called Ms Croxall her ‘new favorite BBC presenter’.

JK Rowling’s endorsement coincided with Miss Croxall’s X follower count rising from 56,000 to 127,000, doubling in the first 24 hours after the BBC changed its script.

Ms Croxall thanked JK Rowling and other supporters after the extraordinary TV moment.

‘Thank you very much to everyone who chose to follow me today, for whatever reason. “It’s been quite a journey,” the married mother of two wrote.

This week, she posted a photo of herself smiling at the camera alongside colleague Sally Bundock, who was sitting behind the news desk as the pair prepared to go on air.

BBC bosses backed Ms Croxall, saying her reaction was to the “clumsy inclusion of statements in the press release that accompanied the investigation”; these included ‘old people’ which was not BBC style and ‘pregnant people’ which did not match what Dr Mistry said in the clip that followed.

However, the ECU said: ‘However, the ECU considered that, even if it accepted this explanation, the facial expression that accompanied the change of ‘people’ to ‘women’ made it open to the interpretation that this already indicated a particular point of view in the debates surrounding trans identity, and the congratulatory messages that Ms Croxall subsequently received on social media, together with the critical views expressed in complaints made to the BBC and elsewhere, tended to confirm that the impression that she was expressing a personal view was widely shared across the spectrum of views on this matter. problem.”

The ECU said its finding had been reported to BBC management and discussed with Ms Croxall and the editorial team.

Ms Croxall has previously supported women on television and behind the scenes has stood by female colleagues in the fight for equal pay at the company.

Ms Croxall also hit out at a transgender wannabe politician who said she felt attacked when she questioned his claim that the Supreme Court’s decision in April that trans women are legally men and trans men are legally women may need further “clarification”.

In April, the broadcaster was praised when it challenged a trans activist who claimed the Supreme Court’s ruling that the definition of woman is based on biological sex may still need ‘clarification’.

The BBC veteran told former Labor MSP candidate Heather Herbert that the landmark decision made clear that ‘sex is binary and immutable’.

Leicestershire-born Ms Croxall repeatedly challenged Herbert after he called for more ‘clarification’ on single-sex spaces, at one point reminding her: ‘The verdict is that female means biological sex.’

He led a legal case against the BBC over pay, with the company settling. Ms Croxall, Karin Giannone, Kasia Madera and Annita McVeigh launched an employment tribunal against the BBC in a bombshell case alleging they were not paid equally compared to their male colleagues.

All four claimed they lost their roles at the BBC News Channel following a ‘fraudulent’ recruitment exercise when it was merged with BBC World. The case was resolved by the BBC in the spring of this year.

The row meant the women were furloughed for 12 months and Ms Croxall chronicled it on social media. Instead of being in the studio, he enjoyed trips to Mexico, Bulgaria and Thailand.

Ms Croxall joined the company in 1991 following work experience at local station BBC Radio Leicester.

He grew up in the countryside and attended an independent school before graduating from Leeds University.

It was briefly taken off the air in 2022 after breaking the company’s neutrality rules.

Ms Croxall was informed of the ECU decision by bosses this week and remains on air.

When contacted for comment, the BBC said they had nothing to add to the decision.