When in doubt, punish the nearest women. Don’t ask any questions about who did what to whom, just punish the nearest women. It saves time in the end.

Bristol city council has banned two gender-critical women from stepping foot in City Hall after they asked Green Party councillors if the Supreme Court judgment on trans identity was “offensive or transphobic”.

The council alleged the questioning of the two councillors in the public lobby after a heated council meeting last month, in which Green councillors staged walkouts and held trans rights placards, was carried out “in a way that they found intimidating”.

Did they though? Or did they just say they found it intimidating?

Men don’t usually find women talking back intimidating. They find it outrageous, yes, but intimidating, no. Broadly speaking, men are not fearful of women’s voices.

The council has banned Wendy Stephenson, chair of the council’s independent remuneration panel, and Phoebe Beedell, a retired academic researcher, from attending any council meetings for six months because of their “unacceptable behaviour”.

But Greens staging walkouts is not unacceptable behaviour?

A number of “trans activist” placards were raised by Green councillors during a full council meeting on November 4 whenever a member of the public asked a question about women’s safety and the council’s criticism of the Supreme Court ruling in the For Women Scotland case that “woman” and “man” in the Equality Act refer to sex at birth.

The placards read “trans women are women”, “trans men are men”, “protect the dolls” [a reference to hyperfeminine trans women], “trans rights are human rights”, “trans is beautiful” and “trans people always have and always will exist”.

In short the placards brandished the usual collection of falsehoods and flattery.