Tomorrow, a Church of England minister, sacked and reported to terrorist watchdog Prevent for a sermon on identity politics and the right to dissent will begin his appeal at the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
Revd Dr. Bernard Randall, 51, took legal action against Trent College in Derbyshire following his dismissal for a sermon he gave in 2019 on the CofE’s own teaching on marriage, in a CofE chapel, in a school with a CofE ethos. Dr. Randall was also blacklisted by the CofE’s Derby Diocese safeguarding team as a “risk to children” for delivering the sermon. A safeguarding report on his conduct concluded that the CofE’s traditional teaching on marriage and sexuality was a safeguarding “risk factor”, and he has not been permitted to deliver a sermon since. At the Employment Appeal Tribunal on Tuesday, Dr. Randall will challenge a shocking Employment Tribunal ruling which upheld his sacking.
According to the Christian Legal Centre, which is supporting him, his lawyers will say that the original tribunal ruling failed to recognise Dr. Randall’s right to freedom of religion and expression when delivering the sermon on contested issues on matters of significant public interest.
They will also say that the school and tribunal denied pupils’ free speech right to hear Christian teaching and make up their own minds. They will also challenge the tribunal’s “perverse” finding that the school’s safeguarding team was justified in reporting Dr. Randall to the Government’s terrorist watchdog, Prevent, for the sermon.
The permission to appeal hearing comes following several vindications for Dr. Randall in recent weeks.
Following the Employment Tribunal’s ruling in February 2023, the Headteacher of Trent College, Bill Penty, reported Dr. Randall to the Teaching Regulation Authority (TRA) and the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) with the aim of preventing him from teaching and working with children indefinitely.
The DBS found no evidence of harm or potential harm and concluded that “it would not be appropriate” to take action against Dr. Randall, and the TRA said there “was no case to answer”.
Last week it was also revealed by the Charity Commission that the controversial LGBT charity, Educate and Celebrate (E&C), whose agenda of “smashing heteronormativity” at Trent College led to Dr. Randall giving the sermon, was folding following a series of scandals, including revelations that it lied to hundreds of schools that it was endorsed by Ofsted and its push for the eradication of ‘boy’ and ‘girl’ in schools and for not informing parents if a child declares him or herself as transgender at school.
Ahead of the hearing, Dr. Randall said:
I was and am aghast at how the courts have painted me and my Christian beliefs as the problem when it has now so clearly been exposed that E&C has been the danger to children.
I believe I have experienced a series of terrible injustices, and I am determined for them to be put right. This is another stage on that road.
My case concerns everybody. The gender identity and Queer Theory agenda sowing deep seeds of confusion in young children is now embedded in our schools.
That agenda is anti-Christian and unashamedly aims to stamp out any Christian influence in our schools, and indeed any opposition, dissenting voice or even debate on their dangerous ideology.
I would not be where I am now if E&C had not been invited into Trent College, it is as simple as that. As an ordained CofE minister working as a chaplain in a school with a CofE ethos, it was my duty to encourage debate and help children who were confused by the LGBT teaching to know that there are alternative views and beliefs on these contentious issues.
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Why would the powers that be want to sexualise and mutilate children?
Crikey, E&C sound like the UNRWA-ran schools over in Gaza, only with a different ideology and without the obsession with death. Sinister and dangerous to young minds AF.
I know who the terrorists are in this scenario and it isn’t our Rev! I wish this chap all the very best. Common sense must prevail at some stage in
This is a question I ve asked myself repeatedly and I recently had a thought which is now my preferred hypothesis.
I think expressing woke beliefs serve as a form of ritualistic initiation into the ruling and managerial class of our society.
It’s like a form of hazing that everyone has to go through if they want to to be part of the group. Like any form of hazing there has to be an element of humiliation or self debasement which has the purpose of submission to the group.
In the case of woke culture, embracing contemporary trans ideas, for example, is an act.of intellectual self humiliation. It requires a brutal renounciation of common sense. Signing up to the white privilage story means publicly denouncing yourself as intrinsically bad and evil, an act of self hatred if there ever was one.
Wokeness is the belief system of the upper echelons and it serves the primary purpose of selecting those who are prepared to submit themselves to the group.
Absolutely spot on comment! “Ritual Humiliation” also induces a state of “hyper-suggestibility” in the victim, leading to a kind of hypnotic mind control by the group leaders.
“Neuro-Linguistic Programming” or NLP as a subversive Communist tool was also exposed by retired Royal Navy Lt. Commander Brian Gerrish of the UK Column.
“It’s a technique of layering subtle meaning into spoken or written language so that you can implant suggestions into a person’s unconscious mind without them knowing what you’re doing.”
You know you are over the target when they call you a terrorist.
Although the target appears to be quite large.
Indeed – in fact we can’t move for targets!
Godspeed, Dr Randall!
I don’t mean to sound like a naive prat but my understanding of terrorism is that it involves violence or the threat thereof in order to obtain political gain. Thus if I go down the pub and threaten someone with violence for servicing my wife this is not terrorism. I expect that in this case they would’ve argued that any notion of eternal punishment or damnation is a threat of violence but it isn’t They just make themselves look even more ridiculous and expand the circle of people who hate them. If you were to poll parents what percentage do you think would approve of this gender ideology being pushed on their children at an early age? I find it hard to hazard a guess but doubt that it would be higher than twenty percent.
Hamas are freedom fighters (not terrorists) and the Revd Dr. Bernard Randall is a terrorist and there is no discussion.
I’m intrigued by the down votes. Is it because I should have indicated my remark was satire as I would have thought that it couldn’t be clearer that it is, or are the downvotes because they do not agree that Hamas are freedom fighters and the Revd Dr. Bernard Randall is a terrorist thinking that this is my position? Or do the downvotes indicate disagreement with my obvious satire and consider what I have written to be true and therefore sacred? Please explain.
What the F is a ‘safeguarding team’? This is straight out of 1984
And in true 1984 fashion it is not safeguarding but the opposite.
I am a Christian and totally support Rev Dr Randall. Christians and all right thinking people need to stand up to the woke bullies and those trying to eradicate all Christian moral teaching. I would be delighted to hear someone like Dr Randall preaching in my church.
Ask Welby…all I can hear are the sounds of silence from that quarter.
Is there a Crowdfunding page to show our support for this man?
I assume the Headmaster has been relieved of his duties.
Can you imagine this happening to an Imam who was expressing “traditional” religious views to his Muslim congregation?
Nah ….. me neither.
The woke bullies pick on Christians because they know there will be no violent repercussions and the police/government will do SFA to protect them.