Swinney: Scots public bodies 'should wait for guidance' before single sex space change
Public bodies should wait for full guidance from the UK's equality watchdog before making changes to policy on single sex spaces, Scotland's First Minister has said. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) issued interim guidance on Friday in the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling that sex in the Equality Act refers to biological sex. The body is expected to provide full guidance in the coming months on the implication of the ruling, but its release on Friday said trans women (biological men) should not be permitted to use women's facilities in areas such as hospitals, shops and restaurants. But speaking at the STUC Congress in Dundee , John Swinney said public bodies should wait until the full guidance is issued by the EHCR before implementing changes. "Public bodies have got to be mindful of the legal framework in which they operate and they've got to take into account the formal guidance that comes from the EHRC , which has been subject to consultation and ministerial approval and that's essentially what we wait for," he said. " I think organisations want to have legal certainty and they can only get legal certainty from the formal guidance that comes from the EHRC." Mr Swinney's comments come as he - along with his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer - was urged to apologise by one of his own MSPs. Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland on Monday morning, Michelle Thomson said: "In reality, let's be clear: Keir Starmer should also be apologising, Nicola Sturgeon should also be apologising because people expect government to make clear policies that can be translated into law, and this has been quite a mess for some time, and has only been cleared up as a result of the ruling by the Supreme Court." Asked to respond to her comments, the First Minister said he had addressed calls for him to apologise last week. The ruling has come in for criticism from some, with Green MSP Maggie Chapman hitting out at the Supreme Court, accusing judges of "bigotry, prejudice and hatred". Ms Chapman faces a vote on Tuesday on Holyrood's Equalities and Human Rights Committee - on which she is the deputy convener - in an effort by the Scottish Tories to oust her. Asked how the three SNP MSPs on the committee will vote on the issue, the First Minister said he was not aware, adding: "It would be wrong for me to intervene in the work of a committee by instructing them to do anything."
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The Independent
38 minutes ago
- The Independent
Brazil's Bolsonaro takes the stand before the Supreme Court over alleged coup plot
Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro appeared before the Supreme Court for the first time Tuesday and denied participation in an alleged plot to remain in power and overturn the 2022 election result as he faces charges that could bring decades behind bars. Many Brazilians followed the trial, which was streamed online. The country was shaken by the January 2023 riot in which the Supreme Court, Congress and presidential palace were ransacked. The far-right politician, appearing relaxed, and seven allies were being questioned by a panel of judges over allegations they devised a scheme to keep Bolsonaro in office despite his loss to current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. 'There was never any talk of a coup. A coup is an abominable thing," Bolsonaro said. 'Brazil couldn't go through an experience like that. And there was never even the possibility of a coup in my government.' The far-right politician admitted to discussing 'possibilities' with the heads of the armed forces following Lula's win, but within constitutional limits. He didn't give details. Bolsonaro's questioning lasted just over two hours. At one point, he joked with Justice Alexandre de Moraes — whose planned killing was part of the plot, the prosecutor-general has alleged — a contrast to the sharp words Bolsonaro has aimed at the court in the past. Bolsonaro could face decades in prison The defendants are standing trial on five counts: attempting to stage a coup, involvement in an armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, aggravated damage and deterioration of listed heritage. A coup conviction carries a sentence of up to 12 years. A conviction on that and other charges could bring decades behind bars. The former president has repeatedly denied the allegations and asserted that he is the target of political persecution. When asked by de Moraes at the beginning of questioning whether the accusation was true, Bolsonaro replied, 'The accusation does not hold, your excellency.' He said that even if he had wanted to impose a 'state of siege,' the measures would have been different. 'There was no environment for it, no opportunity. We didn't have even a minimally solid base to do anything,' he said. The eight defendants are accused of making up the plan's core group. Justices are also questioning Bolsonaro's former running mate and defense minister Walter Braga Netto, former ministers Anderson Torres and Augusto Heleno and ex aide-de-camp Mauro Cid, among others. Judges will hear from 26 other defendants at a later date. The court has already heard from dozens of witnesses in hearings that began in mid-May. Cid, who has signed a plea bargain with the federal police, told the court on Monday that Bolsonaro read and edited a document that aimed at canceling the election result. Cid also said Bolsonaro refused to interfere regarding camps that supporters set up in front of army facilities calling for a military intervention after the election loss. Many of those followers were later part of the Jan. 8, 2023 riot. Police say their uprising — which occurred after Lula was sworn in — was an attempt to force military intervention and oust the new president. Prosecutor: Riot part of scheme to overturn election results Bolsonaro on Tuesday referred to supporters who were calling for a military intervention as 'crazy.' Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet alleges the riot was part of a scheme to overturn the election result. Part of that plot allegedly included a plan to kill Lula and de Moraes. The plan did not go ahead at the last minute because the accused failed to get the army's commander on board, according to Gonet. On Tuesday, Bolsonaro said he had learned about the plot, which received the sinister name of 'Green and Yellow Dagger,' when it was reported in the press. 'If it had been proposed, in my view, it would have been rejected, with immediate action taken,' he said. Bolsonaro, a former military officer who was known to express nostalgia for the country's past dictatorship, openly defied Brazil's judicial system during his 2019-2022 term in office. He has been banned by Brazil's top electoral court from running in elections until 2030 over abuse of power while in office and casting unfounded doubts on the country's electronic voting system. A watershed trial Thiago Bottino, a law professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a think tank and university, called the trial historic. 'It's the first time we see people accused of an attempted coup are being subjected to a criminal trial, with the guarantees of due criminal process, being able to defend themselves but answering for these accusations,' he said. The trial is particularly significant in light of the fact that Brazil's constitution was adopted in 1988, less than four decades ago, Bottino said. Brazil is showing that it has 'the democratic maturity to be able to use due process to investigate this type of accusation and, if necessary, hold those responsible accountable,' he said. ___
Reuters
41 minutes ago
- Reuters
Bolsonaro denies orchestrating Brazil coup in Supreme Court testimony
BRASILIA, June 10 (Reuters) - Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro denied that he led an attempt to overthrow the government after losing the 2022 election during his trial before the country's Supreme Court on Tuesday, but acknowledged taking part in meetings aimed at reversing the outcome. Bolsonaro said he and senior aides discussed alternatives to accepting the electoral results, including the possibility of deploying military forces and suspending some civil liberties, but he said those proposals were soon dropped. "The feeling was that there was nothing else we could do. We had to swallow the election results," the ex-president said. "I never acted against the Constitution," Bolsonaro added, holding a copy of the country's 1988 charter that re-established democracy after two decades of military rule. In March, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case against Bolsonaro and seven other people, including several military officers, who were charged with plotting a coup to stop Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office in January 2023. The charges stem from a two-year police investigation into the election-denying movement that culminated in riots by Bolsonaro supporters in the capital in early 2023, a week after Lula took office. Bolsonaro, who was the sixth defendant to testify in the case, spent several minutes of his two hours of testimony defending his administration's achievements and his criticism of the country's electoral system. Dozens of witnesses were previously heard by the court, an indication that the case is moving swiftly and could be concluded by the end of the year, avoiding overlap with campaigning for the 2026 presidential election. Bolsonaro has insisted he will run in that campaign, despite an electoral court decision barring him from seeking public office until 2030. On Monday, Bolsonaro attended the trial to watch testimony from Mauro Cid, his former aide turned whistleblower, and then shook his hand. Cid told the court that the former president reviewed a draft decree that was central to the coup plot and made changes, while keeping a section that ordered the arrest of Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is now overseeing the case against Bolsonaro and his allies. On Tuesday, the former president said he only briefly saw the draft decree and never edited it. He also apologized for making unfounded corruption allegations about Supreme Court justices. "Forgive me," he told Moraes. A final ruling on Bolsonaro's case is expected by October.
Times
44 minutes ago
- Times
NHS ‘won't hit waiting list target' despite budget boost
The NHS will not come close to hitting Sir Keir Starmer's waiting list target despite receiving a budget boost of about £30 billion on Wednesday, official modelling shows. Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, will promise the health service an annual real terms increase of 2.8 per cent as she uses her spending review to stake Labour's re-election pledge on improving the NHS and growing the economy. Starmer's central promise on the NHS is to hit a routine operations target of treating 92 per cent of patients within 18 weeks, a goal that has not been met for a decade. But The Times understands that internal Department of Health modelling shows that the NHS is on course to hit only about 80 per cent by the end of the parliament. Officials say the figures can only come close to 92 per cent by using 'implausible' and 'over-optimistic' assumptions. Reeves will promise to 'invest [in] our country's security, health and economy' as she uses looser fiscal rules to channel £113 billion in extra infrastructure spending towards projects to spur growth. This will include a promise of £3.9 billion a year on a decade-long programme to double council house-building, as well as more than £16 billion on nuclear power and more than £20 billion for local road, rail and tram projects. Insisting that she is 'renewing Britain', Reeves will acknowledge: 'I know too many people in too many parts of the country are yet to feel it. This government's task — my task — and the purpose of this spending review — is to change that.' Her promise comes as official figures showed employment in the UK fell last month at the quickest pace since the pandemic. Data from HM Revenue & Customs showed that the number of payroll employees fell by just over 109,000 in May, the largest monthly decline since May 2020. After Starmer set out plans last week to spend 3 per cent of GDP on defence, the centrepiece of Labour's promise on public services will be annual increases to health spending that will total a budget boost of about £30 billion a year by the end of the parliament. The decision will force some real term cuts to other departments but a lower increase for health than some were expecting has allowed Reeves to avoid deeper cuts in politically sensitive areas such as the police. A 2.8 per cent annual increase is below the 3.6 per cent rises the NHS has averaged over decades and which formed the basis for the health service's workforce plan, leading to widespread unease among health chiefs about whether it is enough to deliver key pledges. The health service will also have to find the lion's share of a £1 billion-a-year rise in drug prices ministers have promised to the pharmaceutical industry, raising fears that much of the increase will be swallowed up in higher costs and staff pay, as unions threaten another campaign of strikes. Currently the NHS is treating only 60 per cent of routine conditions within 18 weeks and many health chiefs believe they are off track even to hit an interim target of 65 per cent by March. The waiting list is 7.4 million and NHS England says it it will need to fall below 4 million to hit Starmer's target. This will require average monthly falls of more than 70,000, almost tripling the rate achieved since Labour took power. Officials say modelling can only show performance reaching 92 per cent by March 2029 through making a series of assumptions that are not internally seen as credible. As well as more efficient care, models show the waiting list falling faster if fewer patients are referred for treatment, there are more straightforward cases, follow-up appointments are discouraged and patients are removed from waiting lists where they are deemed no longer to need care. Wes Streeting, the health secretary, argues that a ten-year plan due next month will improve efficiency and allow the NHS to intensify efforts to cut waiting lists, and has insisted the target is feasible. 'Despite everything Wes has said, there are still people who haven't got the message: it is neither affordable nor desirable to turn the NHS around through money alone,' a government source said. 'It is the combination of the investment Rachel is making, and the reform Wes has embarked on, that will deliver on the government's plan for change to cut waiting times from 18 months to 18 weeks. We have never said that this will be achieved by just spending more money.' Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, will warn ministers not to 'demand the impossible' of the health service as he hosts Streeting at his annual conference on Thursday. While welcoming a 2.8 per cent increase, Taylor said: 'There are fears that this uplift will not be enough to achieve all the government's manifesto pledges, including hitting the stretching 92 per cent 18 weeks elective waiting time target by March 2029.' While insisting hospitals and other services were prioritising waiting lists, Taylor said: 'Many of our members have voiced concerns about hitting the interim target, with only 50 per cent confident they will achieve the 65 per cent elective care target by March 2026.' Sally Gainsbury, of the Nuffield Trust think tank, said that 'an extra 2.8 per cent in real terms will not fully cover the new demands the health service can expect each year, let alone eliminate previous problems like the waiting list backlog'. She warned that while 'the increase expected in the spending review is a lot of money by anyone's standards', the NHS was already struggling with deficits and the extra cost of medicines. 'Even if it outstrips the most optimistic assumptions, the health service won't hit the 92 per cent waiting times target unless it cuts back on other goals we have been promised,' she said. The Department of Health said: 'We continue to make strong progress towards delivering the 18-week standard, and are confident we will hit it by the end of the parliament through our Plan for Change. We have exceeded our pledge to deliver two million extra operations, scans and appointments, with 3.6 million additional appointments delivered, cutting waiting lists by 200,000 already.'
