Labour has been urged to act to protect Parkrun from what campaigners describe as “American interference”, after a US-based religious organisation issued a legal threat over trans inclusion in the UK.
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), an American group known for its role in the legal campaign that helped overturn Roe v Wade, has warned Parkrun and other sporting bodies that their policies may be in breach of the UK Supreme Court’s recent ruling on trans rights. The intervention has prompted a backlash from thousands of runners and volunteers.
More than 2,100 parkrunners and supporters have written to their MPs calling on ministers to defend inclusive community spaces such as Parkrun. They are also urging the government to address what they describe as growing legal uncertainty for organisations following the Supreme Court judgment.
The legal threat was issued by the ADF’s international arm, which the Southern Poverty Law Centre has designated as a hate group. The organisation wrote to several sports bodies, including Parkrun, in partnership with Conservative peer Sharron Davies, arguing that allowing trans participants to compete as themselves may not comply with the court’s ruling.
Campaigners say the move represents the “American religious right breaking cover” in the UK to exploit perceived weaknesses in the legal position of trans people.
The response from the Parkrun community has been swift, with many calling on Labour to prevent what they see as external pressure undermining inclusive grassroots sport.
Kay Heenan, 33, from Edinburgh, who has been a Parkrun participant and volunteer for eight years, said the event had always been rooted in openness and community spirit.
“Parkrun is, and always has been, about community,” she said. “It brings together a wonderful cross-section of people and creates a space where everyone is welcomed and celebrated for showing up on a Saturday morning. Excluding trans people goes against that spirit entirely.
“Efforts by the ADF to push for exclusion should be firmly resisted, and inclusive spaces like Parkrun should be protected.”
Haasje Wientjes, 33, from London, said changing Parkrun’s approach would undermine its ethos as a volunteer-led initiative.
“I take part in Parkrun every week,” she said. “Changing Parkrun’s inclusion policy goes against what Parkrun has always meant to me as a volunteer-led initiative focused on the simple joy of running together. Restricting participation feels extremely unfair and risks damaging a weekly event that welcomes a community of all runners.”
The controversy comes amid wider concern about the impact of the Supreme Court ruling, with campaigners warning of a rise in “lawfare” - the use of costly legal threats to pressure inclusive organisations.
High-profile groups such as Girlguiding and the Women’s Institute have faced pressure over their policies, while legal disputes linked to trans inclusion, including those concerning facilities at Hampstead Heath ponds, remain ongoing.
Earlier this year, more than 140 women’s and LGBTQ+ organisations, coordinated by the Trans+ Solidarity Alliance and backed by Labour MP Nadia Whittome, called for reforms to equalities law to better protect inclusive organisations from legal challenges.
Alex Parmar-Yee, director of the Trans+ Solidarity Alliance, said the Parkrun case highlighted the need for urgent government action.
“National institutions like Parkrun are being attacked by the religious right because Labour is hanging them out to dry,” she said. “Organisations need confidence to defend their trans-inclusive positions but, despite claims of clarity, the legal landscape after the Supreme Court judgment has become chaotic.
“Expensive threats like this will continue, and organisations like Girlguiding and the Women’s Institute will continue to be harmed by anti-trans lawfare, unless Labour acts to protect them.
“Trans people deserve to be able to take part in public life as themselves. Organisations like the ADF may be targeting trans people in the UK now, but they will not stop there.”
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