HUMAN rights group Liberty accused Britain’s equalities watchdog today of trying to “speed through sweeping changes” to guidance after the Supreme Court’s ruling on biological sex.

The campaign group said it has submitted legal papers to the High Court alleging the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) six-week consultation period on the new guidance is “unlawful,” with anything less than 12 weeks “wholly insufficient.”

It comes after the Supreme Court ruled in April that said the words “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex, after a challenge against the Scottish government by campaign group For Women Scotland.

The equalities regulator published lengthy draft guidance earlier this month related to trans people’s use of certain spaces including toilets and participation in sports.

At that stage, the commission said it had tripled the length of time for feedback from an original proposal of two weeks, “in light of the level of public interest, as well as representations from stakeholders in Parliament and civil society.”

But Liberty is arguing this is not long enough and “there is no good reason why it should not be” at least 12 weeks.

The human rights organisation said it sent a pre-action letter to the EHRC earlier this week and has now submitted legal papers to the High Court and is waiting to see if a judge decides whether to proceed to a hearing based on its arguments.

The group said it is also arguing that by having a consultation period shorter than 12 weeks, the commission is “in breach of the public sector equality duty” to “eliminate unlawful discrimination.”

The EHRC has been contacted for comment.