Ben Summerskill, Chief Executive of Stonewall, quit the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) over the weekend – making him the fourth commissioner to walk out on the EHRC  in a week.

Summerskill quit over the leadership style of chairman Trevor Phillips, and is the first former commissioner to call for the chairman’s resignation.

“I think its time for him [Phillips] to step aside and make room for someone who can deliver outcomes,” Summerskill told Pink News.

“I hope the commission will think about how it is organised so it can deliver the outcomes it needs to. There are still millions whose lives are disfigured by prejudice.”

Others who have resigned include the former chairman of the Disability Rights Commission, Sir Bert Massie, the disabilities rights campaigner, Baroness Campbell and Professor Francesca Klug.

In his resignation letter, Sir Bert Massie told equalities minister Harriet Harman “I have been concerned for some time about corporate governance at the Equality and Human Rights Commission and had hoped that renewed leadership would enable it to achieve its full potential.”

An EHRC spokesperson has confirmed that Summerskill will remain a commissioner until his term ends in December.

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