Mick Hartley

The usual smug BBC response:

The BBC has defended its use of female pronouns to describe a transgender killer who stabbed their partner to death with a samurai sword.

Joanna Rowland-Stuart, who was born male and was known as John Stuart, attacked Andrew Rowland-Stuart at their Brighton home in 2024, in what a jury found was an unlawful killing.

He stabbed and sliced his partner more than 50 times before replacing the sword in its sheath on a stand. Women don't, on the whole, do this kind of stuff. Men do, though.

In a written response, the broadcaster’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) said: “The BBC recognises the debate around sex and gender identity involves deeply held and sometimes conflicting views. The BBC’s approach, therefore, is to use terminology which is clear and appropriate to the context.”

By calling a man a woman. Very clear and appropriate to the context.

The ECU said the language had been appropriate because Rowland-Stuart was referred to as a woman throughout the trial.

Some complainants said that the BBC’s choice of language was evidence of its “clear deference to gender identity ideology”. However, it said: “Respecting an individual’s chosen gender identity does not mean the BBC is endorsing or supporting any side of the debate around transgender rights.”

Respecting an individual’s chosen gender identity somehow loses its "be kind" power when you're reporting on a brutal murder.