Nicola Sturgeon branded 'threat to our democracy' after refusing to apologise after Supreme Court gender ruling
Sturgeon told journalists she 'fundamentally disagreed' when asked if she should apologise to women in light of the Supreme Court ruling.
Nicola Sturgeon has been branded a "threat to our democracy" after she refused to apologise to campaigners who launched a successful legal challenge against the Scottish Government over trans rights.
The former SNP leader was quizzed by reporters today at the Scottish Parliament on the UK Supreme Court's recent ruling that sex is defined by biological sex under equality law.
Sturgeon, the driving force behind plans to make it easier for Scots to legally change their gender, has been repeatedly accused of ignoring concerns over the impact of the now abandoned reforms.
The former first minister today rejected calls for her to apologise to critics of gender self-ID, saying she 'fundamentally and respectfully disagreed' with such calls.
That stance was blasted by Joanna Cherry, a frequent critic of the Scottish Government's strategy on gender.
Cherry said: "Nicola Sturgeon is trying to rewrite history (again) but I and all the women who fought to protect our rights haven't forgotten that she called our views 'not valid' and branded us bigots etc.
"Her behaviour was a disgrace and an existential threat to our democracy".
The former MP, who lost her seat at last year's general election, previously claimed Sturgeon had called her "a bigot and a transphobe for sticking up for the rights of women and lesbians."
The ex-SNP leader was the driving force behind the controversial Gender Recognition Reform (GRR) Act that was eventually blocked by the UK Government in 2023.
The Supreme Court ruling followed years of legal wrangling which began in 2018 while Sturgeon was still first minister.
The EHRC has since published an interim update on what it means for the operation of single-sex spaces.
Speaking to reporters, Sturgeon said: "I would be very concerned if that interim guidance became the final guidance. I hope that's not the case because I think that potentially makes the lives of trans people almost unliveable."
Sturgeon also said it was not 'inevitable' that the Supreme Court judgment on the definition of a woman will make the lives of transgender people 'impossibly difficult'.
But the former first minister of Scotland said there was a 'danger' that those interpreting the law could put trans rights at risk.
'If that is the case, then yes, it would be my view that the law as it stands needs to be looked at,' she told reporters at Holyrood.
The three-year legal fight over gender started when campaign group For Women Scotland (FWS) brought a series of challenges over the definition of "woman" included in legislation drafted at Holyrood - which mandated 50 per cent female representation on public boards.
The dispute centred on whether someone with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) recognising their gender as female should be treated as a woman under the UK 2010 Equality Act.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Britain is ALREADY at war with Russia and ‘we are in pretty big trouble' admits defence expert in bombshell warning
Moscow has been 'menacing the UK in various different ways' for years GONE TO WAR Britain is ALREADY at war with Russia and 'we are in pretty big trouble' admits defence expert in bombshell warning RUSSIA is already at war with Britain, an author of the Government's defence review has warned. Fiona Hill, who was the White House's chief Russia adviser during Donald Trump's first term, delivered the stark warning of the threat posed by Vladimir Putin. 4 An author of the Government's defence review has warned that Britain is already at war with Russia Credit: EPA 4 Kharkiv, in Eastern Ukraine, was blitz by Russian missiles in retaliation for last week's Spider Web attack Credit: East2West 4 Fiona Hill, an author of the Government's defence review Credit: Getty She said: 'We are in pretty big trouble. "Russia has hardened as an adversary in ways that we probably hadn't anticipated.' Ms Hill said Moscow has been 'menacing the UK in various different ways' for years, including poisonings and assassinations on British soil, carrying out cyber attacks and cutting sea cables. In her grim alert, the Kremlin expert said: 'Russia is at war with us.' read more on russia WHITE VAN WHAM Army bosses to buy drones that can be fired from VANS after Ukraine op And she warned that Britain can no longer rely on US military might to protect itself from enemy states. Ms Hill co-wrote the Strategic Defence Review, which warned the UK is facing its biggest threats since the Cold War — and set out plans to urgently build more bombs and guns to arm ourselves. Her comments came as Russian missiles blitzed Kharkiv, killing three people and injuring at least 22, including a six-week-old baby and a 14-year-old girl. The eastern Ukrainian city was struck by 48 drones, two missiles and five glider bombs as part of a huge, countrywide bombardment by Putin in retaliation for last week's Spider Web attack on his nuclear bombers. PM Sir Keir Starmer used an article in last week's Sun on Sunday to deliver his starkest warning yet of the danger of war. Putting the nation on a war footing, he said Britain must prepare to 'sight and win' against our enemies. New footage of Op Spiderweb shows drone blitzing Putin's burning aircraft
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Buoyant Sarwar pleads with PM to do more for Scots after by-election triumph
Scottish Labour leader Anas has urged Sir Keir to make the lives of Scots better to give him an 'easier' run into the 2026 Holyrood election. MUST DELIVER Buoyant Sarwar pleads with PM to do more for Scots after by-election triumph ANAS Sarwar has told Sir Keir Starmer he 'must do more' to help him convert the stunning Hamilton by-election win into kicking the SNP out of power. The Scottish Labour leader admitted the Prime Minister's rocky start to life in No10 had not been good enough on a number of fronts. 3 Anas Sarwar leader of Scottish Labour with by-election winner Davy Russell, right, and the party's deputy leader Jackie Baillie, left 3 Sir Keir Starmer And he urged Sir Keir to make the lives of Scots better to give him an 'easier' run into the 2026 Holyrood election. But Mr Sarwar — still 'buzzing' after Davy Russell's narrow victory in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse — insisted: 'Scotland is one step closer to changing the SNP government, from booting them from office and electing a Scottish Labour government. But we still have got hard work to do. "Keir Starmer knows what he has to do as Prime Minister to improve the lives of people here in Scotland and across the UK, and he knows he has to do more, and demonstrably more, over the course of the next year. 'I want a UK Labour government to deliver for people in Scotland, and the context of that, of course, makes conversations and makes campaigns easier. 'And they recognise that they have to do more to improve people's lives.' His comments come after Scottish Labour — relegated to third place by the bookies and political commentators before last Thursday's vote — surged to victory over the SNP and Reform UK. And in an exclusive interview with The Scottish Sun on Sunday, Mr Sarwar said: 'I want to earn the right to be in government, earn the right to be First Minister. 'I want to earn the right to change the direction of our country. And that's what I'm going to try hard to do.' Mr Sarwar had cut a despondent figure in recent months after seeing his party plummet in the polls after being neck-and-neck with the Nats last year. Recent surveys before the by-election confirmed a slump from a high of 37 per cent in the constituency vote to 19 per cent, and from 34 per cent in the regional list stats to 18 per cent. Anas Sarwar reacts to Labour's shock win and reveals why voters backed the party Meanwhile the SNP has barely shifted from 33 per cent and 28 per cent support in the respective measures. The dip came after Labour trounced the Nats in last July's General Election, returning 37 MPs to Westminster after previous near wipeouts in Scotland in 2015 and 2019. Mr Sarwar struggled to defend the UK Labour government's decisions, including Chancellor Rachel Reeves axing winter fuel payments for pensioners and raising employer National Insurance contributions — which experts say heightened discontent. But he was visibly energised from the by-election win when he spoke to us after his party secured 31.6 per cent of the Hamilton vote compared to the SNP's 29.4 per cent. Mr Sarwar — who has clashed publicly and privately with Sir Keir — admitted it had been a 'challenging number of months'. He added: 'We have to have a clearer demonstration from a UK Labour government that we are improving the lives of people here in Scotland. I make no bones about that. In fairness to Keir Starmer, he makes no bones about that too. He accepts that that has to happen.' But Mr Sarwar now feels able to turn his fire on First Minister John Swinney — and also have a pop at political pundits. He said: 'I've never felt that the underlying fundamentals have changed. I've always believed they were still good for us and very bad for the SNP. 'What was deeply frustrating, and actually the by-election has helped in this, is there was this overlaying theory amongst the political commentariat and pollsters that everything was framed around a UK Labour government. What John Swinney has tried to do over the course of the last ten or 11 months is he has very deliberately retreated from the real public debate, just withdrawn anything meaningful from the government, so they just go quiet and hope the public only focus on a UK Labour government and therefore he sneaks in through the back door. 'I think that's his entire strategy. But it's burst. It's done. He's not got it. The SNP's finished. 'The question now is what replaces them. 'And ultimately that's only the Scottish Labour Party.'
Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
John Swinney in the firing line after allowing education secretary to swerve parliamentary duties DESPITE school crisis
Ministers have faced increased scrutiny over their response to soaring levels of violence in schools NO SHOW John Swinney in the firing line after allowing education secretary to swerve parliamentary duties DESPITE school crisis JOHN Swinney let Jenny Gilruth dodge a grilling on school violence. We can reveal the First Minister signed off the SNP Education Secretary's absence two months before the Holyrood Q&A on the classroom crisis. Advertisement 3 Jenny Gilruth was out campaigning for the SNP 3 First Minister John Swinney MSP at the Scottish Parliament It was scheduled on the same day a 12-year-girl was rushed to hospital after an alleged stabbing at a school in Aberdeen. Ms Gilruth instead posed for a selfie while campaigning in her Mid-Fife and Glenrothes seat. Emails showed parliamentary business minister Jamie Hepburn was also involved her free pass on April 24. Colleague Graeme Dey instead stepped in. Advertisement It was the first education questions for five weeks as MSPs returned from their Easter holidays. Ministers have faced increased scrutiny over their response to soaring levels of violence in schools. There are also concerns about an ongoing funding crisis at top Scottish universities. Last night Tory education spokesman Miles Briggs claimed ministers would 'do anything to avoid being held to account.' Advertisement He added: 'It's scandalous that even John Swinney was in on this, turning a blind eye to his education secretary missing important parliamentary questions to campaign.' A Scottish Government spokesman said: 'Diary commitments meant the Education Secretary was unable to attend portfolio questions. Jenny Gilruth accused of 'playing truant' after her parliament no-show "In line with rules, the Higher Education Minister answered questions.' 3 John Swinney and Jenny Gilruth
