A Nationalist MSP has broken party ranks to urge NHS Fife bosses to quit over their handling of a transgender legal battle.
Michelle Thomson last night hit out at the health board as it was revealed the dispute with nurse Sandie Peggie had so far cost taxpayers £220,500.
The Falkirk East MSP is the first serving SNP politician to condemn NHS Fife’s handling of the landmark tribunal relating to single-sex spaces.
She accused the board – headed by chief executive Carol Potter, who earns at least £147,700 a year – of a seemingly ‘breathtaking disregard for their duties of good governance and candour’.
And the MSP raised concerns about the ‘direct, and indirect cost to the public purse… at a time when the wider NHS is struggling’.
Heaping pressure on Health Secretary Neil Gray to step in, Ms Thomson said she would be ‘disappointed’ if he continued to insist he had confidence in the board.
Her intervention follows revelations last week that the health board had spent hundreds of thousands of pounds defending itself and trans medic Dr Beth Upton against a claim brought by Mrs Peggie.
The 50-year-old A&E nurse has taken her case to an employment tribunal after being suspended from her job.
The SNP’s Michelle Thomson has broken ranks to call for NHS Fife bosses to consider their position
The move will heap enormous pressure on Scottish Health Secretary Neil Gray who insists he still has confidence in the health board
NHS Fife chiefs took action against her after she challenged the presence of Dr Upton, born a biological male, in the female changing rooms at Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital.
The huge costs associated with the ongoing tribunal were revealed on Wednesday following a months-long transparency battle between MailOnline and the health board.
However, those close to the case said the true legal bill could climb to around £1 million once the tribunal, which continues this week, concludes.
That would likely include extra internal legal costs and fees for outside counsel for NHS Fife, which is using an expensive English-based KC to defend their position, as well as the claimant Sandie Peggie’s legal fees, which can later be requested from the health board.
The case started before April’s Supreme Court ruling clarified that the definition of a woman under the Equality Act 2010 is based on biological sex, meaning trans women have no automatic right to access female-only spaces.
Last night Ms Thomson said: ‘It cannot just be me who has considered what on earth is going on in the board of NHS Fife.
Nurse Sandie Peggie was was suspended by NHS Fife after she challenged the presence of Dr Beth Upton, a transgender medic, in the women’s facilities
The legal bill for Dr Upton’s defence – as well as the health board’s – is being funded by the taxpayer
‘The Supreme Court judgement was extremely clear, and so to then proceed with the remainder of the Peggie hearing when it can only result in abject failure for them seems to have breathtaking disregard for their duties of good governance and candour.’
She added: ‘The cost to the public purse will be significant at a time when the wider NHS is struggling.
‘It’s clear to me that all of the board must consider their position’.
She added she would be ‘extremely surprised and disappointed’ if My Gray continued to claim he had confidence in NHS Fife and its leadership.
Last week NHS Fife conceded that as of May 31, 2025, a total of £220,465.93 had been spent on legal costs relating to the tribunal.
It was noted that the sum could pay for nine nursing assistant starting salaries of £23,362 or around 40 hip replacements.
The Scottish Government last night said the Health Secretary continues to have confidence in NHS Fife and its leadership.
