Ocado apologises to Mumsnet over ‘hateful political opinions’ remark | EUROtoday

Ocado has apologised “unreservedly” to Mumsnet for citing “hateful political views” when it pulled out of a business partnership over the parenting discussion board’s stance on the definition of intercourse within the Equality Act.

Founder Justine Roberts mentioned Ocado “abruptly pulled out” of the partnership after Mumsnet known as on the final election for the act to be reformed “to ensure women can access single-sex places”.

Ms Roberts mentioned she had “feared the site might not survive” due to the variety of advertisers which withdrew assist over the dialogue of gender points on its boards.

Her submit got here after the Supreme Court dominated on Wednesday {that a} girl is outlined by organic intercourse underneath the Equality Act.

Mumsnet’s name for reform would have allowed for areas to be reserved for organic girls.

Ms Roberts mentioned the discussion board had additionally made “repeated attempts to explain our position – as a platform committed to amplifying women’s voices” however Ocado had “refused to speak to us”.

In a submit on X, Ocado mentioned the feedback had been “not representative of us as a company” and that they had been made by a “temporary contractor” who has since left.

“We apologise unreservedly to Mumsnet,” the net grocery website added.

Ms Roberts wrote her submit in a dialogue on the discussion board in regards to the Supreme Court ruling. In the submit, she congratulated these on the web site “who played a part in securing what I think most would agree is much-needed clarity in the Equality Act”.

The ruling was on a case marketing campaign group For Women Scotland introduced in opposition to the Scottish authorities, arguing that sex-based protections ought to solely apply to individuals which are born feminine.

Judge Lord Hodge mentioned the ruling shouldn’t be seen as a triumph of 1 aspect over the opposite, and confused that the regulation nonetheless provides safety in opposition to discrimination to transgender individuals.

Mumsnet’s coverage of permitting dialogue of gender points over various years had led to intense criticism, Ms Roberts mentioned, including that the location “risked being permanently labelled as bigoted, vicious, and ‘on the wrong side of history'”.

She claimed that various organisations had pulled their promoting over stress from trans activists, each “internal and external”, threatening the survival of the location.

Ms Roberts added the location “never considered banning discussion of this issue altogether”.

Her submit solely listed one different instance, saying Mumsnet had been “blacklisted on instruction from the top brass at Barclays”. Barclays mentioned it will not remark when approached by the BBC.