A clinical psychologist who raised safeguarding concerns about a teacher's support for children transitioning at school without parental knowledge had her request for anonymity dismissed and her identity disclosed by council officials, in an incident critics are calling a potential serious data breach.
Anonymity Request Ignored After Complaint
Dr Anne Woodhouse wrote to her daughters' school about posts made by teacher and drag artist John Naples-Campbell, who performs as Miss Lossie Mouth. Mr Naples-Campbell, a volunteer trainer for the Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) campaign, had tweeted support for proposals allowing trans-identifying children to transition at school without their parents' knowledge.
Dr Woodhouse described the idea as "a safeguarding disaster" and stressed that "parents need to be informed" about welfare issues affecting their children. To protect her family from potential backlash and because her children attended the school, she explicitly requested confidentiality in her communication, which she stressed was not a formal complaint but a request for clarity on school policy.
Council Prioritised Staff 'Welfare' Over Confidentiality
However, when Mr Naples-Campbell demanded to know who had written the letter, Highland Council officials provided him with Dr Woodhouse's name. The council later told her they had balanced her request for confidentiality against "the welfare of the member of staff, who was extremely distressed over the ongoing abuse he was being subjected to."
Subsequently, Mr Naples-Campbell flagged a series of Dr Woodhouse's gender-critical social media posts to a professional conduct panel. A misconduct case was brought against her, but three years later, the Health and Care Professions Council closed the case, admitting there was no prospect of proving professional impairment.
Calls for Investigation and Allegations of a Toxic Culture
Scottish Conservative shadow equalities minister Tess White MSP has drawn parallels between this case and that of gender-critical nurse Sandie Peggie in NHS Fife. She stated: "This shows that the SNP’s toxic obsession with divisive trans ideology has become entrenched in Scotland’s public bodies... it seems there’s a concerted effort to silence her."
Critics have raised the possibility of an investigation into a data protection breach, questioning the lawfulness of disclosing a complainant's identity. Highland Council has stated it has no "outstanding complaints" regarding data protection on this matter. The incident highlights the intense debate surrounding parental consent in schools and the treatment of those who express gender-critical views.
