On Tuesday, a U.K. court overturned the 2022 ruling that upheld Trent College’s firing of Reverend Bernard Randall, who was removed after he told students that they could question and debate LGBT teaching. Judge James Tayler ruled the earlier decision “unsafe” after anti-Christian bias in the presiding panel was divulged.

Responding to the college’s adoption of LGBT ideology, Randall preached a sermon in 2019 at the college, which is associated with the Church of England (C0fE). The college had recently invited Educate and Celebrate, a gender identity group now shut down, to show staff how they could “embed gender, gender identity and sexual orientation into the fabric at your school.” Educate and Celebrate had the staff chant “smash heteronormativity” during an instruction session.

In his sermon, Randall stated “if you are not comfortable with it [LGBT ideology], for the various especially religious reasons, you should not feel required to change.”

Randall was subsequently fired from his role as chaplain and blacklisted from the CofE. He was even reported by the government to a terrorist watchdog organization.

Supported by Christian Legal Centre (CLC), Randall filed a lawsuit in 2021 for “discrimination, harassment, victimization and unfair dismissal,” according to CLC.

In 2022, the Employment Tribunal under Judge Victoria Butler found Randall guilty for gross misconduct.

However, the March 5 ruling resulted in Randall getting a full retrial. Tayler deemed the past ruling void because of anti-Christian bias in the 2022 tribunal. Lay member Jed Purkis, who was part of the 2022 tribunal, posted anti-Christian statements before and after the 2022 ruling, including “Only atheists should be allowed to run for office” and “I need no ‘higher power’ to tell me the right way to treat people and behave. …” Tayler also rendered a £20,000 judgment against the college.

CLC expects Randall’s legal team to use the scandals of Educate and Celebrate as evidence in the new hearing. In August 2024, Education and Celebrate shut down quietly. Before it shut down, a series of scandals appeared, including the case of their patron Stephen Ireland, the founder of an LGBTQ organization, who was arrested and charged with committing sex abuse against children in multiple cases. Some alleged incidents included rape and kidnapping conspiracy.

In his response to the ruling, Randall expressed relief while acknowledging the difficulty the injustice has caused in his life.

“I am very pleased and thankful for today’s decision and am relieved that Judge Butler’s previous ruling have been acknowledged in court,” Randall said. “We now start from the beginning, which gives the opportunity to bring new evidence, especially on Educate and Celebrate. Nevertheless, the continuing long wait for justice is painful and holding back my life.”

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the CLC, believes the case sets precedence for future cases.

“This case has significant implications for freedom of speech and religious belief in schools. If Bernard is not vindicated, it sends a troubling message that teachers, chaplains, and parents who uphold Christian teaching or question radical ideological agendas will come under intense scrutiny and may face losing their jobs. This is why we remain committed to seeing justice done and will continue to support Bernard until that is achieved.”

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