The British Red Cross was accused last night of being ‘hijacked by political extremists’ after issuing a controversial ‘inclusive’ language guide.
The 154-year-old charity, which has King Charles as a patron, told staff ‘people who are not women’ can get pregnant and have periods.
Descriptions such as ‘born a man or woman’ or a ‘biological male or female’ should be avoided as it could offend transgender or non-binary individuals, said the guide.
It added a ‘trans woman is as much of a woman’ as someone born with female genitalia.
The British Red Cross was accused last night of being ‘hijacked by political extremists’ after issuing a controversial ‘inclusive’ language guide
The 154-year-old charity, which has King Charles as a patron, told staff ‘people who are not women’ can get pregnant and have periods
Saying ‘ladies and gentlemen’ is ‘not inclusive’ along with asking someone about their ‘maiden name’.
The document even says trans people should be able to use whichever toilets and changing facilities they want.
The internal guide – circulated this summer and leaked to the Mail – wants workers to avoid everyday terms like ‘illegal migration’ and opt for ‘person in search of safety’ or ‘person experiencing migration’.
Non-white people should be described as ‘from a minoritised ethnic group’ or ‘global majority’ rather than from a ‘minority ethnic group’.
Esther McVey MP, ex-Tory minister for common sense, said: ‘I am sorry the British Red Cross has fallen victim to such woke nonsense.
‘One can only hope they go back to spending their money and focus on helping people instead of it being hijacked by political extremists to foist this nonsense on everyone.’
A charity spokesman said the guidance was ‘to help staff and volunteers feel more confident when speaking with or writing about different people’. Pictured is a British Red Cross van
Esther McVey, who is the ex-Tory minister for common sense, called it ‘woke nonsense’
Fellow former minister Sir John Hayes MP said he was ‘sorry’ to see the beloved charity ‘stoop so low’, adding: ‘To pander to this politically correct nonsense is bound to damage its reputation.’
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, pointed out that the charity receives tens of millions of pounds from the government.
He added: ‘Ministers need to ensure taxpayers’ cash is being used to fund frontline services and not radical activism.’
The 12-page guide explains it was created as ‘language can be harmful, triggering or emotive’. It urges staff to say ‘pregnant women and people’ so trans men and non-binary people are not excluded.
Workers are also told to say ‘women, girls and people who menstruate’ or ‘people who have periods’ as ‘solely referring to women’ is not inclusive.
The guide promotes ‘gender-neutral titles and/or titles that do not indicate a marital status’, such as ‘Mx’.
Terms such as ‘everyone’, ‘folk’ or ‘all’ are seen as more inclusive while staff are told to replace ‘he or she’ in certain situations with ‘they or them’.
Terms like ‘elderly’, ‘youngster’ and ‘pensioner’ should be shunned to head off negative stereotypes.
A charity spokesman said the guidance was ‘to help staff and volunteers feel more confident when speaking with or writing about different people’.
In 2022, the British Red Cross received £37.3million from government contracts and £43.95million from government grants, amounting to nearly 20 per cent of its total gross income of £439million.
The proportion was down from a peak of nearly 40 per cent in 2020.