Stephen Nolan: I got tsunami of support for transgender series after being warned to back off

The series’ main focus is the lobby group Stonewall – a publicly-funded, London-based outfit which exerts a strong influence upon both UK public bodies and corporations which are keen to demonstrate their LGBTQQIA+ credentials.

Some gender activists responded with fury to the 10-part series, while Stonewall itself largely refused to take part.

The Rainbow Project, arguably the most prominent transgender lobby group in Northern Ireland, had said: “Trans and Non-Binary people exist in NI and are worthy of equal respect.

“Discourse that questions their validity feeds into hatred and transphobia.

“It has a negative impact on peple and real lives.

“In the last year there has been an increase of over 16% in Transphobic Hate crimes in the UK.”

Mr Nolan – who gave an interview to The Times of London at the weekend – said he had received such a “tsunami” of support, including from senior BBC staff, leaving him “gobsmacked”.

The series marks a major turning point; up until now, the News Letter has been basically alone in asking questions and running stories about the influence of gender activists in the Province over the past couple of years.

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Fundamentally, such activists believe two key things: that there are not just two genders, but many, and that people can become male or female by the power of thought alone.

As a result of their influence, efforts are underway to ensure that words like “female” and “woman” do not appear in legislation currently going through Stormont which deals with the provision of free menstrual products (on the basis of their claim that men have periods too, so talking about it as a women’s issue is not “inclusive”).

Mr Nolan said the subject of transgender activism had been viewed as “untouchable” by his colleagues.

He told The Times: “I’ve been broadcasting in Northern Ireland for 25 years... I’ve had death threats.

“Yet really seasoned people were saying: ‘Do you really want to put yourself in the firing line on this?’

“I’ve never had the volume of people warning me off it ... [as] it could affect my career and safety.”

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