Trans civil servant embroiled in row with colleagues who complained over 'fetish gear'

Staff at the Department for Work & Pensions were reportedly outraged by Tweedale’s fetish clothing and bondage gear.

However, it is not yet clear if Baroness Jenkin tabled her questions in light of complaints about Tweedale.

Tweedale, who co-chairs the LGBT+ Civil Service Network and helped to establish the first transgender network in the department, is claimed to wear low-cut black corsets, fishnet tights with high heels and a gothic choker.

A source told The Mail on Sunday: “At a stretch it looks like gothic evening wear but really it’s very strange.

“If you worked in a bank or any office job, you couldn’t wear that kind of stuff, whether you’re a woman or a man… It’s a highly inappropriate attire to wear.

“There is an expectation [of] people in their role and that they would look appropriate to do that role.”

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The Civil Service Code unequivocally calls for Whitehall mandarins to “act in a way that is professional and that deserves the confidence of all those you deal with”.

There is also requirements for staff to present a “smart or professional appearance” at work in at least “some instances”.

Ahead of yesterday’s outrage about Tweedale’s attire, Baroness Jenkin submitted a written question which read: “To ask His Majesty’s Government what is their policy on civil servants wearing fetish clothing in the workplace.”

A follow-up question published two days later added: “To ask His Majesty’s Government whether they consider Bondage, Domination, Sadism, and Masochism to be a protected characteristic within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010.”

Tweedale has had a number of public run-ins about gender identity.

The 58-year-old, who separately claimed sex being binary is not the “modern scientific view”, was singled out last year amid claims of having played “a key role in the attempted ideological takeover” of the department.

In an online lecture given in October last year, Tweedale also said: “What really gets me is when you’re challenging a trans child’s knowledge of who they are and say that parents’ will take precedence.

“That poses a big danger to women and girls because it challenges Gillick competency… it’s very clear, if a child is old enough to understand the consequences of the medication and treatment they are asking for, their will takes precedence over that of the parent.”

Tweedale even claimed gender-critical trade union members “make me laugh” in 2021.

A DWP spokesperson said: “We don’t comment on individual staffing matters."