In a closely-watched case, a UK court has ruled that a tax expert, Maya Forstater, should not have been dismissed from her job for believing that men cannot become women.

A tribunal found yesterday that Forstater had faced discrimination and victimisation at work over her views on trans people.

The decision means that Forstater could receive damages in the tens of thousands of pounds after she was wrongly dismissed from her role at the London office of a US think tank.

Forstater’s legal triumph yesterday over the Centre for Global Development came after a higher court ruled last year that her views were legally classed as a “philosophical belief” and protected by equality legislation.

The tax specialist, who has co- founded the campaign group Sex Matters, said that the latest ruling was a victory “for everyone who believes in the importance of truth and free speech”. She added that “we are all free to believe whatever we wish. What we are not free to do is compel others to believe the same thing, to silence those who disagree with us or to force others to deny reality.”