Cllr John Yardley, a Conservative councillor in Wolverhampton where he is the Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Safer Communities, has been interviewed by police after making a transexual joke at a meeting. He was chairing a presentation and the police authority worker making a presentation said: "Let's start with an easy question to get us going. Press Button A if you're male or B if you're female." a member of the audience asked: "What if you're transgendered?"
It was at this point that Yardley committed his alleged "hate crime." He responded light heartedly: "You could press A and B together." He had been unaware that the question had been raised by a man in the audience dressed as a woman.
All very socially awkward but hardly a "hate crime." The police response is that the joke wasn't funny, that it all happened six months ago and that they didn't spend very much time on the matter. All that seems to miss the point. They shouldn't have spent any time on it. It should have been obvious to them that they had more important matters to talk to Cllr Yardley about.
