Trans rights activists have been accused of "sheer theatre" after defacing several statues in London on Saturday, during an "emergency demonstration" against the Supreme Court's ruling on biological women.
Following a challenge by the For Women Scotland campaign group, the Supreme Court ruled that women are determined by "biological sex", not those who are transgender and simply identify as women.
On Saturday, the transgender community, trans organisations and their allies came together across the country to protest the legislation - also targeting seven statues in the capital.
The defacement of the Millicent Fawcett statue, which commemorates the suffragist leader, has drawn particular concern from heritage groups.
Nichi Hodgson hit out at trans activists for defacing the statue of a Suffragette
GB News / PA
Discussing the move on GB News, commentator Nichi Hodgson argued that although she supports the transgender community in their protest, she questioned why the statues were targeted.
Hodgson explained: "I've spoken quite strongly this week about about the issue of biological sex and being in favour of trans women, but I do not understand the defacing of the statues.
"Having been on many a protests in my life, if people deface things, they don't always tend to be with the main cohort of protesters. I understand that we're being told that these are trans activists, but I would like that clarified first, because it sounds quite like it could just be somebody who's randomly hopped on this and was hijacking it."
However, Hodgson claimed that if it is found to be the trans activists, it is "sheer theatre" to target them.
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(Right to left) Benjamin Disraeli, Mahatma Gandhi, Jan Smuts, Millicent Fawcett and Nelson Mandela statues during the protests todayPAHodgson said: "Now, if that's not the case and it is somebody who is a trans activist, then my question is why? Millicent Fawcett has given women the right to vote. If you're a trans woman, you have the right to vote.
"So I don't really understand the logic unless it's for sheer theatre. It's not winning friends, and it doesn't win it for me, even though I'm in favour of what they're protesting."
Delivering his verdict on the protests, political commentator Christian Calgie argued that often transgender activists are associated with "radical extremism".
Calgie explained: "I think the problem for the trans movement is that so often, those that are trans and those with the loudest voices in the community are their own worst enemies. And I think what it comes from is that very often being transgender comes hand in hand with quite a radical extremism.
Hodgson told GB News she 'doesn't understand the logic' behind defacing statues
GB News
"A lot of them spend a lot of time online, they whip themselves up into a hysteria. Online you can say things like 'burn terfs', and then they actually leave their homes, which I think is quite rare for some of them, and they encounter the real world hate speech laws."
Police continue to review footage from the protest and have promised to take action if any displayed signs are found to breach the law.
Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell, who led the policing operation for the protest, condemned the vandalism: "Criminal damage and vandalism like this has no place on the streets of London and spoils the area for locals and those visiting."
He added: "We are pursuing this and will take action against those responsible."
