The News of the World

No longer the Gutter Press, they're now the Sewer Press.

You'd think that a woman who has struggled all her life with a terrible congenital condition might be treated with a modicum of compassion. A woman who has worked in the hideously dangerous occupation of bomb disposal might deserve respect, rather than mockery and scorn.

From the News of the World templink

A BURLY Army sergeant is having a £30,000 sex change — paid for by the Ministry of Defence.

Rugby-playing former commando David Penny, 40, has changed his name to Deborah and wears false boobs under his uniform.

Off duty, the Royal Green Jackets bomb disposal unit veteran is allowed to totter around the mess in stilettos, a skirt and tight-fitting tops as he awaits his op.

And we can reveal his comrades are outraged — not so much by Penny's sex swap, but by the fact the ARMY is shelling out for it.

One told the News of the World: "It's nothing short of a scandal that thousands of pounds is being used this way when soldiers are dying in Afghanistan and Iraq because the MoD cannot afford the right kit for them.

"A few of the lads have joked that Penny wouldn't be able to go into battle without his weapon. But when you sit back and think about what's going on, it's much more serious than that."

Sgt Penny stunned colleagues by ‘coming out' as a woman last week at Colchester barracks in Essex. He had sought permission from superiors before doing it.

On Friday we captured the soldier — who has served for 23 years—returning to his home dressed as Deborah.

‘She' is pictured in her Royal Green Jackets uniform with a new bobbed hair-do and wearing ear-rings and a teddy bear keyring.

Unfortunately stubble is clearly visible through Sgt Deborah's make-up.

The soldier — who is said to have been disowned by his shocked RAF veteran father Charles — has to prove he can live like a woman for a year before he undergoes sex swap surgery.

A pal said: "It will be a tough job. He is a strong man with legs like tree trunks and broad shoulders. His voice is still deep and he will need voice coaching."
...
An MoD spokesman confirmed Sgt Penny was now living a new life as Deborah but said it was a private matter.

A woman who I was in Chonburi at the same time I was paid about 10,000 pounds for her op. She's in the British Army too. Either the MOD is being ripped off, or someone is trying to make Deb's life even more difficult by telling porkies, or the NotW is upholding its slimy tradition of never letting the facts get in the way of a good story by engaging in journalistic research.

Fortunately for Deborah, women like us have the capacity to take this stuff in our stride. If we didn't, we'd be one of those who didn't make it. But yes, it hurts.

It could be worse. I wonder how the authors of the article, Lewis Panther & Jane Atkinson, manage to live with themselves? There are worse things one can be than Transsexual, and being a writer (I won't use the term "journalist") for the NotW is one of them.