Amnesty questioned by watchdog after it blacklisted JK Rowling's women's refuge charity in trans row

Published: 10:37, 22 July 2026 | Updated: 10:48, 22 July 2026 Amnesty is being investigated after it blacklisted JK Rowling's women's refuge charity in a row over trans rights. Ms Rowling, who is best known for writing the Harry Potter book series, was said to be 'burning with fury' after Beira's Place was put on the banned list. The charity, founded by the author in 2022 to support victims of sexual violence, was named alongside nearly 200 organisations that the NGO has accused of moving the dial back on LGBT rights. But the Charity Commission has now confirmed it is questioning trustees at Amnesty UK in order to 'gather more information' as part of its 'compliance' case into the charity. Last week the British chapter of the global human rights organisation Amnesty International was forced to withdraw its report naming and criticising dozens of organisations it claimed 'targeted' LGBT people. The charity said it regretted publishing the report and has now insisted the language 'does not reflect the position of Amnesty International UK'. Amid its investigation, the Charity Commission watchdog said it did not need to wait for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to release a code of practice - following the Supreme Court ruling on sex and gender in April last year. The Charity Commission said: 'Charities need to be aware that our guidance will not alter the legal principle set out by the April 2025 Supreme Court judgment, For Women Scotland v Scottish ministers, that "sex" for the purpose of the Equality Act means "biological sex". Ms Rowling has threatened Amnesty International with legal action, prompting the organisation to remove the report from its website. The NGO referred itself to the charity regulator Amnesty International produced a report of organisations that it believes are holding back LGBT rights - including Ms Rowling's Edinburgh rape centre Beira's Place 'Charities do not need to wait for the commission's guidance to comply with the act and the code. 'It is the responsibility of trustees to ensure their charity is compliant with the code, once it is legally enforceable, and unreasonable delays in taking steps towards compliance may be considered a breach of those responsibilities.' Marion Calder, a co-director of the campaign group For Women Scotland, said her group 'welcomes the news that the Charity Commission is taking this seriously'. Ms Rowling's charity describes itself as a 'safe and supportive sexual assault service for women in Edinburgh' which 'offers support, advocacy and information in a safe, women-only space'. Also featured in Amnesty's report was Sex Matters, a charity which supports legal action to protect single-sex spaces and For Women Scotland, the campaign group whose legal action led to the Supreme Court to rule that 'women' in equality law refers to biological females, and therefore does not include trans women. In scathing social media posts criticising her charity's inclusion in Amnesty's list, Ms Rowling said: 'Amnesty is no longer the organisation that defended all who were persecuted for their freedom of speech. 'It has become a self-appointed, vainglorious policeman of wrongthink. It tweets out ideological slogans. It demonises those who disagree with those slogans. It intervened in FWS v Scottish Ministers, on the side of those determined to keep men in women's prisons and rape crisis centres. 'You cannot be simultaneously an impartial defender of freedom and speech and a wealthy international witch hunter that publicly vilifies and intimidates small campaigning groups with whom you disagree. Ms Rowling took to X to share her 'fury' over Amnesty's report, which listed more than 170 organisations it considers anti-trans 'As for "silencing" Amnesty, I have neither the power nor the desire to do so. I want them to explain as loudly and extensively as possible why they are using their might and formerly lustrous reputation to attack small non-violent campaigning organisations with legally protected beliefs.' Ms Rowling added: 'Amnesty's attack on Beira's Place has left me burning with the kind of fury that mounts with every passing hour.' She also said: 'I am still f*****g furious, thanks for asking.' On Friday, the head of Amnesty International UK was urged to resign. The report by the global charity's British arm claimed gender-critical people - who believe someone's true gender is based on biology rather than how they identify - represent 'a movement against the rights of women and LGBTI people'. Published in May and previously available on its website, it claimed 'the growth and influence of the GC [gender-critical] movement' is 'worrying' and has been normalised by the media. It also called on journalists to 'qualify GC and explain that it is an ideological stance that seeks to restrict the rights of trans people' in their reporting. The Harry Potter author threatened to bankroll legal action over the report, including other organisations who were listed - prompting Amnesty to remove it from their website. Amnesty UK said: 'We remain committed to defending human rights, including both the rights of women and girls, and the rights of trans people. 'We are engaging fully with the Charity Commission to provide all necessary information.'