Campaigner Kellie-Jay Keen was asked to leave an International Women’s Day event in Nottingham after questioning organisations about single-sex spaces, prompting anger among women’s rights activists who said the incident was an attack on open debate.
The activist attended the event at the Albert Hall on Friday alongside members of the Let Women Speak (LWS) group. The gathering had been organised by the office of the Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner to mark International Women’s Day.
Footage circulating online shows two police officers approaching Keen and asking her to leave the building immediately. One officer explained that they had received reports she had been asking questions that had caused alarm and distress to people attending the event.
Keen responded by asking the officer if he knew what questions had actually been asked. She later said the conversations had been simple and polite, explaining that the main question posed to stall holders was whether they offered single-sex spaces.
She said the exchanges were straightforward discussions with women working in the sector and insisted she had always asked for permission before filming anyone. According to Keen, nothing about the interactions was threatening or offensive.
Police told members of the Let Women Speak group they had to leave the public event on the grounds of trespass.
Speaking afterwards, Keen said she felt both shocked and frustrated by the decision. She said she was utterly disgusted but not surprised that Nottinghamshire police seemed more focused on silencing women than protecting them.
Keen also referenced a previous Let Women Speak event, claiming police had been uncooperative and had allowed activists to surround and attack women campaigning for female-only spaces.
She said the group attended the International Women’s Day event simply to ask women working in the sector whether they upheld laws regarding single-sex spaces. According to Keen, those questions were then described as upsetting, which led to the group being ejected.
Keen added that she believed the decision to remove them from the event was unlawful because it had been organised by the council and police rather than a private organisation. She argued that stall holders were there to engage with the public and answer questions.
Promotional material for the event invited organisations to book stalls for what was described as an inspiring celebration of women, encouraging groups to participate in the main arena.
In one video clip shared online, Keen can be seen interviewing Louisa Matthews, chief executive of Nottingham Women’s Centre, which helped organise the event.
During the conversation, Keen asked Matthews about the centre’s services and how it planned to respond to the Supreme Court’s stance on single-sex spaces.
Matthews said the organisation would seek legal advice and follow the law while remaining inclusive. She added that the centre had always been a trans-inclusive space and that there had been no change to its policy.
The clips of the encounter have since spread widely online, attracting tens of thousands of views and sparking heated debate.
Actor and comedian John Cleese also reacted to the footage, writing that watching the police in England behave like this caused considerable harm and distress before jokingly asking whether he should call the police.
