Custody officer ‘angry’ after pronoun disagreement, tribunal told

A trainee prison custody officer was “angry” after a disagreement with a colleague about the use of pronouns, an employment tribunal has heard.

An instructor at security firm GEOAmey also said there had been an incident where an officer was attacked by a transgender prisoner who saw that paperwork referred to them as “he” rather than their chosen pronouns.

David Toshack has taken security firm GEOAmey to an employment tribunal, saying he was sacked because he refused to use “incorrect pronouns” for transgender prisoners.

Mr Toshack, 51, says he was dismissed with immediate effect on his final week of training.

The former soldier has previously denied he was “hostile” to colleagues in the disagreement over pronouns at the training event.

On Monday, the tribunal heard from Christopher Hutton, an instructor at GEOAmey.

He was asked about a training session for staff on January 7 last year where Mr Toshack was asked to leave the room after saying he would only use sex-based pronouns.

Describing a meeting with Mr Toshack following the session, Mr Hutton told the tribunal: “He (Mr Toshack) looked angry to be honest, he looked agitated.”

He added: “His face was a bit red.”

Under questioning from GEOAmey’s advocate Michael McLaughlin, Mr Hutton also spoke about the company’s policy on using pronouns in the paperwork which accompanied prisoners.

He spoke about one incident where officers were moving a transgender prisoner who was known to self-harm.

He said: “The prison officer had written down ‘he’.

“The (person in) custody has seen it … and assaulted the officer.”

Discussing the importance of GEOAmey’s policy, Mr Hutton continued: “I understand that Mr Toshack has his personal beliefs, but he has to follow the company policy.”

The GEOAmey instructor said Mr Toshack had failed his probation as the former solder had said he would not comply with the company policy.

Mr Hutton said: “It’s nothing to do with his beliefs. It’s the fact that he was going to put himself and other custody staff at risk.”

Earlier, the tribunal heard evidence from another GEOAmey employee identified as Ms Ross, who was part of the same training course as Mr Toshack.

She said Mr Toshack got “quite heated” during the training session.

She was asked about transgender prisoner Tiffany Scott, who was previously known as Andrew Burns and died in March 2024.

Ms Ross described Scott as an “infamous character” who would harm themself and required 24-hour supervision while in hospital.

The tribunal, which is taking place in Edinburgh before employment judge Amanda Jones, continues.