Council staff branded 'woke' after being banned from asking people for their 'Christian name'

The 13-page guide states that the words "first name, given name or forename" must be used instead, while mentions of religion should be dropped unless it is explicitly relevant.

Elsewhere in the guide, outlawed terms include referring to under-30s as "youngsters" or over-65s as "pensioners", because the phrases are "ageist".

Officials warn that the term 'Christian name' may cause offence

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Toby Young said the move was 'woke hyper-sensitivity taken to ridiculous lengths'

PA

"I've never met a Jew, a ­Muslim or an atheist offended by the words 'Christian name'," he added.

Sutton isn't the only London council to have imposed strict language guides on locals and staff.

Just months ago, Hackney Council in the capital's northeast sparked outrage after rolling out a 17-page guide on gender-neutral language for employees.

Hackney's pamphlet bans the use of "Sir/Madam" in formal correspondence, replacing it with more inclusive terms such as "Dear colleagues" or "Dear council taxpayer".

Traditional titles - such as Mr, Miss, Mrs, and Ms - were also replaced by the gender-neutral "Mx", while "expected mothers" is being replaced by "people who become pregnant".

While just weeks later, it emerged that 'activist' councils will soon be able to change entire street names linked to the British Empire or slave trade after a quiet Labour walk-back on local authority powers.

The decision came after a series of attempts by town halls to cut ties with historical figures linked to the slave trade following Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, including a £100,000 spend by Haringey Council to rename Black Boy Lane to La Rose Lane after poet and racial equality campaigner John La Rose.

GB News has approached Sutton Council for comment.