Campaign group, the Good Law Project (GLP), claimed the guidance was 'legally flawed' and 'overly simplistic'. Three anonymous individuals also criticised the guidance.

Mr Justice Swift endorsed the interim update that the EHRC published in April last year as an accurate statement of the law for employers and service providers.

GLP was judged not to have standing as it lacked 'sufficient interest' in the legal questions. The three anonymous claimants did have standing, and so their substantive arguments were considered. The court dismissed their claims in their entirety. It found nothing that was wrong in law about either version of the EHRC's statement, and found that the claimants' human rights had not been breached by being told not to use facilities provided for the opposite sex.

The judgment urged businesses and services to follow the law, seek specialist advice, but also use 'common sense' in how they organised facilities.

In response, The Good Law Projects said: ‘We always knew this would be a long and hard fight. We are going nowhere. We will fight until the battle is won.'

The EHRC's full guidance or code of practice is still being considered by the government.