Nurse suing NHS trust over ‘racist’ white privilege ideas

A CHRISTIAN nurse has claimed the NHS is “forcing racist ideology” on students in the first case of its kind.

Amy Gallagher, 33, is suing the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust alleging discrimination on the basis of race, religion and philosophical belief, as well as victimisation and harassment.

The mental health nurse, who is in the final stages of a two-year course in forensic psychology at the trust, objected to a lecture titled “whiteness – a problem of our time” in October 2020, which urged attendees to confront “the reality of white privilege”.

In another race lecture the following month, Ms Gallagher claims she was told that “Christianity is racist because it is European” by a talk leader.

The case escalated in March this year when an external speaker at the trust complained to the Nursing and Midwifery Council alleging that Ms Gallagher could not work with “diverse populations” and had “inflicted racebased harm”.

Paul Jenkins, chief executive of the trust, told her that the trust “has committed itself to an explicit ambition of becoming an anti-racist organisation”.

Ms Gallagher claims it is the first legal case for “lack of belief ”, arguing that as a white Christian woman she cannot believe critical race theory, an ideology that says racism remains institutional and rejects a colour-blind approach.

“They are forcing critical race theory on to people – you’re not allowed to disagree with it, or they will bully you for two years,” Ms Gallagher said.

“I’m bringing this legal case to protect my career but it’s also the first test of woke ideology in the courts. The NHS is forcing someone to adopt a racist ideology and it needs to be stopped.”

A spokesman for the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust said: “We cannot comment on an ongoing legal case. As a trust we have made a public commitment to work to become an anti-racist organisation.”