Nicola Sturgeon launches furious defence of gender crusade – just days after hinting at climbdown
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NICOLA Sturgeon sparked a fresh war with feminists, including JK Rowling — just days after saying she wished she'd paused her gender crusade.
The ex-First Minister hit out at critics and said her position on self-ID 'hasn't changed'.
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Nicola Sturgeon launched a defence of her gender crusade
Credit: BBC
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She insisted her position on self-ID hasn't changed
Credit: Splash
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It comes after the former SNP leader admitted mistakes in her handling of the party's gender laws
Credit: Getty
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She took a swipe at JK Rowling who then hit back
Credit: EPA
But her comments were slammed by women's rights campaigners, who said the former SNP leader 'still doesn't get it'.
It emerged that Ms Sturgeon's new book, Frankly, includes a blast at JK Rowling.
It accuses the Harry Potter author of stoking 'vile' attacks on her following a social media post in October 2022 in which she wore a T-shirt that had a definition of Ms Sturgeon as 'destroyer of women's rights'.
The politician claimed the stunt was 'the point at which rational debate' on the trans issue 'became impossible and any hope of finding common ground disappeared'.
Ms Sturgeon said the description of her 'wounds me deeply', adding that the personal attacks that followed 'made me feel less safe and more at risk of possible physical harm'.
Ms Rowling hit back as she posted photos of her penning notes in the book.
The billionaire novelist said: 'Watch my website for my review of Frankly, the memoir of Scotland's (checks notes) most persecuted, misunderstood, self-critical, open-to-debate, feminist-to-her-fingertips ex-First Minister.'
Ms Rowling highlighted a passage about the #MeToo movement.
In her book, Ms Sturgeon wrote: 'We have such a long way still to go to make the public sphere safe for women and girls.'
Ms Rowling shared a picture of the page where she had written: 'Are you f*****g kidding me???'
Nicola Sturgeon admits mistake on gender ID battle in bombshell TV interview
Earlier, the ex-Nats supremo was asked in a BBC interview whether she'd debate trans rights issues with the author.
She eventually said: 'I'll debate with anybody,' adding, 'I don't think JK Rowling would be willing to do that.'
Ms Sturgeon was also criticised by For Women Scotland, the group behind the legal case which ended with the UK Supreme Court's landmark ruling that 'woman' in equality law means 'biological woman'.
Campaigner Susan Smith said: 'She still doesn't get it.
'Nicola Sturgeon wrings her hands now about the tone of the debate but she refused to meet women, including in the SNP, to talk through valid concerns.
'The failure of this policy is on her and we are only sorry that she put many women through hell before we got here.'
Ms Sturgeon also refused to say sorry for pushing the Gender Recognition Reform bill through Holyrood.
"I will never apologise for standing up for the rights of one of the most stigmatised minorities in the country."
Nicola Sturgeon
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme she said: 'The assault we're seeing on trans people now, which goes way beyond debates about the process of gender recognition, is appalling.
'I will never apologise for standing up for the rights of one of the most stigmatised minorities in the country.'
The bill was passed by MSPs in December 2022 but the then-Tory UK Government blocked it from becoming law.
The proposals stripped away protections around trans rights, including the need for a medical diagnosis before people could legally change sex. It planned to lower the age limit from 18 to 16.
The former First Minister had appeared to make a climbdown in an ITV interview on Monday, saying she should have 'paused' it due to feminists' concerns.
But she insisted: 'My position hasn't changed.' She conceded only that her communication skills had 'deserted' her — particularly around the case of trans double rapist Isla Bryson.
There was fury after the fiend, previously called Adam Graham, claimed to be transitioning and was initially sent to a female nick in January 2023. Ms Sturgeon finally said on ITV she considered Bryson a 'biological male'.
But she claimed anything she said about the monster would be 'taken to apply to every trans person'.
She said: 'We deal with the bad people — we don't taint the entire group.'
Scots Tory leader Russell Findlay said it was clear Ms Sturgeon had 'not moved one inch'.
He said: 'She still believes any man should be accepted as a woman regardless of the impact on women's rights.'
Elsewhere in her book, Ms Sturgeon claimed Alex Salmond had been 'implacably opposed' to moves to legalise gay marriage — until she convinced him.
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