Publicly funded NI groups spring to defence of vitriolic anti-police transgender activist

Gay group Cara-Friend and the Centre for Gender in Politics at Queen’s University Belfast, along with the head of the Rainbow Project John O’Doherty, all offered support to Alexa Moore.

The News Letter’s article on Monday had catalogued how, over a period of years, Alexa Moore had described police as racists, pigs, and oppressors, insisted they must not be allowed to march in Pride parades, and called for the PSNI to be abolished.

They also said prostitutes deserve public support, but “cops deserve the wall”.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL STORY: Director of transgender group hired to train PSNI officers has referred to police as ‘racist, fascist oppressor pigs who deserve the wall’

The comments were of particular relevance because News Letter had learned that Transgender NI, the non-profit company which Alexa Moore runs, had been given £1,030 by the PSNI to deliver a compulsory training course for custody sergeants, plus £900 to train Department of Justice staff.

Following our report, John O’Doherty’s Facebook profile displayed an image of him standing beside Alexa Moore.

The Centre for Gender in Politics a feminist collective funded by Queen’s University Belfast) declared: “We stand firmly in solidarity with Alexa Moore and the work of Transgender NI.”

And Cara-Friend published an obviously libellous statement reading: “Cara-Friend unreservedly condemn journalist Adam Kula and The Newsletter for their trash article targeting our colleague and friend Alexa Moore, Director of Transgender NI.

“This is harassment masquerading as journalism... Alexa’s expertise, passion and energy in campaigning for a better N Ireland and a better world are well known. Keep it up Alexa, and know that your friends, colleagues and community stand with you.”

The News Letter’s article on Monday had been prepared over a period of weeks, checked and rechecked for accuracy and legality.

Transgender NI was made aware exactly what the article was about days before publication, because the News Letter had sent detailed emails to the group and its directors.

Nonetheless, repeated efforts to obtain comment for the article had met with silence.

The groups which have since publicly come out in support of Moore were asked if they endorsed the stream of anti-police vitriol detailed in the News Letter.

No response was received from John O’Doherty of the Rainbow Project, who blocked the News Letter from sending him further messages via Twitter.

The Rainbow Project is funded by, among others, the PSNI.

Its 2018/19 accounts appear to show grants from public bodies totalling almost £359,000 that year (of which £34,000 was from the police).

The Centre for Gender in Politics also said nothing when contacted.

The centre was set up last November, but Queen’s refused to say how much it costs to run, telling the paper to submit a Freedom of Information request instead (which can take months to be answered).

Moore sits on the committee for the centre, alongside nine others (all women, plus two directors, also both women).

Cara-Friend did respond, offering a statement that simultaneously defended Moore and expressed support for the police.

Steve Williamson, its director, said that Moore’s comments in the News Letter had been “stripped of the political context in which they were given”.

He said the News Letter’s reporting was “unwarranted”, “transphobic”, and “irresponsible”.

When it comes to the police, he said: “Cara-Friend recognise that the PSNI still have critical work to do, particularly in regard to how they interact with members of the local Trans community, as well as in how they handle certain protests such as Black Lives Matter in comparison to how they handle other political protests.

“We work closely with the PSNI in addressing such issues where we can.

“Cara-Friend is a cross community organisation and as such fully supports the PSNI, as a cross community police force...

“We are delighted to have a good working relationship with the PSNI, both through engagement with our youth services and through PSNI engagement with Pride parades, as well as via our support for and interactions with local LGBTQ+ [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, and more] police officers.

“In our experience most PSNI officers do a wonderful job, and they have our support.”

Cara-Friend’s most recent accounts show donations and legacies from public bodies of about £180,000 for 2018/19.

Ellen Murray - another director of Transgender NI - was registered on Companies House as being on Cara-Friend’s board at time of writing, but the group says that is no longer the case.