内容摘要：Since at least 2010, Shugalei was affiliated with the late Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner boss and a close associate of President Vladimir Putin.

Since at least 2010, Shugalei was affiliated with the late Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner boss and a close associate of President Vladimir Putin.

Dr Upton said it was agreed with a supervisor that the medic would use the female changing room after starting work at the hospital in August 2023.The doctor also said that a Gender Recognition Certificate should not be "required for a trans person's gender identity to be validated or respected" .

Naomi Cunningham, representing Ms Peggie, told the medic: "It's obvious why someone would be unhappy to see you in the changing room."You're male and women would feel uncomfortable with you in the changing room."Dr Upton responded: "I am not male. My presence is not an invasion of the privacy of their space, but I can't speak for how they feel."

The doctor told the court that biological sex was a "nebulous term which doesn't really mean anything".Dr Upton defined gender as "someone's sincerely expressed identity and way of understanding themselves" which was "deeply personal and varies person to person".

The medic added: "Biology is significantly more complicated than a stick figure with trousers and a stick figure with a skirt."

The doctor said that the changing room would ideally have individual, lockable changing cubicles to give people more privacy.In August, the UK Government said

and only go to pensioners on certain benefits.The communities minister

, but said Northern Ireland would have to follow suit.Last week, Lyons said £17m had been found in Stormont's latest monitoring round to allow him to help households affected by the cut.