Magistrates Told To Use Gender Neutral Terms Instead Of ‘Policeman’ & ‘Chairman’

Magistrates have been given a list of inclusive terms that they should use in another shake up of things you can and can’t say.

Woke new guidance tells them what words they can and cannot use, with words like policeman and chairman being banned in favour of gender neutral terms.

Policemen will now be replaced by police officers and chair will be used instead of chairman.

The Express reports: Additional guidance states that magistrates mustn’t say “disabled person” but rather “person with a disability”.

The phrase “committed suicide” or “taken their own life” is also out, with “died by suicide” now considered the appropriate phrase.

The Magistrates Association style guide now advises its staff to avoid gender specific phrases, in the latest move to police everyday language.

Magistrates have also been told to avoid umbrella terms about race, such as “black, Asian or minority ethnic groups”, which can be “unintentionally divisive”.

Chief executive of the association, Tom Franklin, says he wants the guide to “be part of everyone’s working day”.

However, Tory MP Nigel Mills told The Sun: “This is just going too far now. Policemen have been policemen since time began.

“With a backlog of cases surely magistrates need to focus on punishing criminals rather than worrying about upsetting people with the wrong words. It’s woke madness.”

One magistrate told the publication: “We’ve got bigger things to be worrying about in the courts system. The pressure with the number of cases is huge.”

The Magistrates’ Association said: “We strive to use inclusive terms and phrases to avoid anyone feeling excluded from our events, activities and organisation.”