Christian doctor is SACKED by the Government for refusing to identify patients by their preferred gender because he believes sex is established at birth

A DOCTOR sacked as a government medical assessor for refusing to identify patients by their preferred gender says his right to freedom of speech has been denied.

Dr David Mackereth says he was defending his religious belief and now fears other "professional people of faith" could lose their jobs for holding similar opinions.

The 55-year-old has worked for the NHS for 26 years, but was told he could not become a Department for Work and Pensions disability assessor if he refused to identify patients by their preferred gender.

As a Christian, the father-of-four believes a person's gender is biological but says he has now been deemed "unfit to work" because of his religious convictions.

The medic, from Dudley in the West Midlands, who has spent most of his career in Accident and Emergency wards, said: "I'm not attacking the transgender movement, but I am defending my right to freedom of speech and freedom of belief.

"I don't think I should be compelled to use a specific pronoun. I am not setting out to upset anyone. But if upsetting someone can lead to doctors being sacked, then as a society, we have to examine where we are going."

Dr Mackereth, a Reformed Baptist, started training in May to become a health and disability assessor for the government department.

His role would have involved compiling independent reports about the health of those he interviewed who were claiming disability benefits, but his instructor said reports must only refer to the patient by the gender they had self-identified as.

Dr Mackereth said as a Christian he believes the gender is defined by biology and genetics adding: "I could have kept my moth shut, but it was the right time to raise it."

He then received an email saying not referring to people by their chosen sex "could be considered harassment as defined by the 2010 Equality Act".

Dr Mackereth added: "Firstly, we are not allowed to say what we believe. Secondly, as my case shows, we are not allowed to think what we believe. Finally, we are not allowed to defend what we believe."

A DWP spokeswoman said the Equality Act made it unlawful to discriminate on grounds of a "protected characteristic", such as gender reassignment.

She added: "Dr Mackereth made it clear during his training that he would refuse to use pronouns which did not match his own view of a person's biological gender. We expect all assessors to handle assessments sensitively and adhere to the Equality Act 2010."