Magistrates are banned from using the terms ‘policeman’ and ‘chairman’ and are told to avoid divisive umbrella terms in document which free speech campaigners say is being peddled by ‘woke warriors’

Magistrates have been banned by their industry body from using words such as ‘policemen’ and ‘chairman’.

The Magistrates Association ordered its 28,000 members to avoid umbrella terms like ‘black, Asian or minority ethnic groups’, which can be ‘unintentionally divisive’.

They were also encouraged to ‘describe someone’s sexual orientation in the terms they suggest’.

The 29-page document, published in September last year, has sparked a backlash among free speech campaigners, who say it is being peddled by ‘woke warriors’.

Toby Young, Director of the Free Speech Union, said: ‘People are sick to the back teeth of this obsession with policing people’s speech.

Read more: Magistrates are banned from using the terms ‘policeman’ and ‘chairman’ and are told to avoid divisive umbrella terms in document which free speech campaigners say is being peddled by ‘woke warriors’