Kate Forbes denies she is anti-trans amid protest fears
She is a member of the Free Church of Scotland and said she would not have backed same-sex marriage if she had been an MSP at the time of the 2014 vote.
Ms Forbes, who is standing down in May, also said she would not have backed the Scottish Government's Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill had she not been on maternity leave.
There had been threats of protest at Ms Forbes appearance ahead of the Unspun Live event at the Dissection Room at Summerhall.
Management at the Edinburgh venue had been urged to cancel the Deputy First Minister's appearance.
She was asked about the concerns on the night.
Read more:
She said: Ms Forbes hit back and was applauded by the crowd as she said: 'These issues have been well documented and can I just say how brilliant it is that we still have freedom of speech in this country.
'One of the antidotes to that hatred in talked about earlier is to create spaces where people can openly, without fear, count on respect from one another.'
She added: "My approach is to respect the fact and to appreciate the fact that a lot of people disagree with me.
"It is a reflection of a healthy democracy that people both agree with me and disagree with me.
'I am not anti any human being. I am taught to love my neighbour as myself which is to give them greater respect, greater honour, greater appreciation than I would expect for myself.'
Ms Forbes was on maternity leave during the vote for the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill - which was subsequently blocked by the UK Government - however she has said she would have voted against it.
She was not in parliament in 2014 during the same-sex marriage vote, however she said she would have voted against it,
The Deputy First Minister was also asked about comments from Professor Sir John Curtice who said on Monday it was 'most unlikely' that the SNP would secure a majority at next year's election.
Ms Forbes said her standing down would not hinder the party.
She said First Minister John Swinney had made 'significant' sacrifices in standing for SNP leadership.
'I have really enjoyed working with him over the last year and a bit,' she said, adding she looks forward to supporting him over the coming years.
Addressing Mr Curtice's concerns, she said: 'I think the SNP stands a very good chance at the nect election to deliver a significant majority of seats.'
She also said suggestions that former SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford would be running to replace her should be taken with a "huge dose of salt".
Ms Forbes added that the question of her successor becomes an issue for local party members.
'I do think it needs to be a healthy competition and certainly he hasn't told me that,' she added.
Asked if she was likely to vote for the former Westminster leader, who was ousted by current incumbent Stephen Flynn, to fill her seat, Ms Forbes refused to be drawn, saying instead that she would wait to see who the candidates were.
The deputy First Minister also dodged a question on who would be the next leader of the SNP in her absence.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
5 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Majority of Brits support stripping Prince Andrew of his remaining royal titles - amid speculation future King William will look to cut him out
Two thirds of Britons support stripping Prince Andrew of his remaining royal titles, new research has shown. According to YouGov polling, 67 per cent of the population would back a move by the Royal Family to remove any remaining vestiges of his former position. The most well known title held by the late Queen's second son is the Duke of York, a title given to him on his wedding day to Sarah Ferguson in 1986. According to tradition, however, he was also given the titles of Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh, relating to Scotland and Northern Ireland, although they are rarely used. All three regions have seen local campaigns demanding the titles be disassociated from the prince, who remains overshadowed by a web of private and public scandals including his association with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Prince Andrew's scandalous and faux pas-ridden life - from the scores of alleged sexual conquests to his boorish and vulgar character - has been outlined in extracts from a new book serialised in the Mail. Andrew Lownie's book Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York - also recounts the Duke's seeming infidelity and suggestions he abused his Foreign Office role to boost his own wealth on taxpayer-funded trips. The excruciating revelations have prompted fresh questions over whether the Duke should retain his titles - but his brother, King Charles III, is unlikely to deviate from his mother's famous stance of 'never complain, never explain'. Charles is thought to have sought to address the 'Andrew question' early in his reign - but his cancer diagnosis saw his priorities change. As well as his connections with the Epstein, the Duke was forced to deny ever sharing information with an alleged Chinese spy who served as a close advisor on his business ventures. His relationship with Yang Tengbo caught the attention of British intelligence services, who had to contact the Duke to warn him off amid fears Mr Tengbo was seeking to use his royal connection to his advantage. The King has withdrawn his brother's allowance even while appearing to surrender in the war over the Royal Lodge residence. Andrew must now keep the 30-room estate in Windsor Great Park maintained at his own expense - which he appears to be capable of despite a bill thought to run into the millions. Despite his troublesome reputation, Andrew remains eighth in line to the throne and a Counsellor of State who can theoretically deputise for the King should he become incapacitated, although in reality this is unlikely to ever happen as there are other working royals who also occupy the position. The shamed royal, who retains his HRH status but is unable to use it publicly, also remains a member of the Order of the Garter, the nation's most ancient and prestigious order of chivalry. He also holds various Royal Victorian Orders, given to him by the late Queen, as well as other foreign and Commonwealth titles, as well as being an honorary Vice Admiral. Andrew has disappeared from the public eye, having withdrawn from royal duties - making any future action by William an effective confirmation of his informal severance (pictured 2011) The Duke has seen largely excused himself from all but the most occasional of public outings - joining the family on their Christmas walk at Sandringham and attending St George's Chapel for the Easter Sunday service. Andrew's Order of the Garter, Britain's highest order of chivalry could also be stripped away after he was granted it by Elizabeth II in 2006. It is removed from those guilty of charges such as heresy or treason. The Duke of York has not taken part in the annual public Garter Day parade since 2019, following his fall from grace. His Dukedom could be struck off by way of Parliament. A Private Members' Bill sponsored by MP Rachael Maskell in 2022 sought to grant the Monarch 'powers to remove titles'. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Ms Maskell is the MP for York Central. Nine in 10 local people wanted to see Andrew stripped of his title in 2022, loathing his ongoing connection with the city. He has already been stripped of the Freedom of York. His princedom and HRH title - the latter already informally withdrawn with Andrew's agreement - could be revoked by way of Letters Patent, documents signed by the monarch that grant rights and titles (and can equally take them away). The new polling says that only 13 per cent of those asked would object to him being stripped of his remaining royal titles. A further 21 per cent said they didn't know. The 67 per cent who said they would back any move is spread fairly evenly across gender, ages groups and even political affiliation. A sample 2294 adults across Great Britain were quizzed between August 6 and 7 this year, following the Daily Mail's devastating serialisation of the explosive new biography of the Duke and his wife, Sarah, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, which made a series of damaging claims about his private and public activities. A separate YouGov survey found that Andrew continues to languish at the bottom of the royal favourability tables, with his five per cent of Britons having a positive view of him.
Telegraph
5 minutes ago
- Telegraph
A reliance on capricious foreign investors has left Britain on a knife edge
As the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will only too painfully be aware, the UK Government pays more for long-term money than almost any other advanced economy. More than the US, where Donald Trump is giving a whole new meaning to the term 'fiscal profligacy'; significantly more than France and Italy, both of which have higher debt burdens than the UK and arguably bigger fiscal challenges; and almost unbelievably, bigger even than one-time economic basket case Greece. With her 'non-negotiable' fiscal rules, Reeves claims to be restoring stability to the public finances. But it is far from evident in the nation's debt-servicing costs, which are expected to reach a jaw-dropping £111.2bn this financial year, and have become a major part of the UK's wider fiscal problem. Why are we paying more than others? Growing credit risk is one obvious explanation – investors are simply not convinced by Reeves's promise of fiscal discipline. The Chancellor raised spending by £70bn in her first Budget last October, but only half of that was met by increased taxes. The rest came from higher borrowing. What's since become clear, moreover, is that she is going to have to tax and borrow even more to honour the Government's growing list of spending commitments. Already markets are suffering from acute indigestion, and fear the worst from the next Budget in a couple of months time. The other part of the explanation is higher and more persistent inflation than elsewhere. These higher inflationary expectations are reflected in elevated interest rates and therefore debt-servicing costs. Britain has a bigger proportion in its overall sovereign debt profile of index-linked gilts than any other advanced economy. The higher the inflation rate, the greater the cost.
BBC News
5 minutes ago
- BBC News
West Suffolk College to specialise in construction jobs
A college has been named by the government as one of 10 specialist construction colleges across the Suffolk College in Bury St Edmunds will receive a share of £100m investment as part of a push to train more bricklayers, carpenters, roofers and government said the funding would see 40,000 people trained at the new Technical Excellence Colleges by Moody, from the college, said it was "wonderful news" and hoped it would allow "many, many more people to enter the world of construction". West Suffolk College already offers courses in the construction industry, however Ms Moody said there were skills not being provided in the East, such as steel fixing and concrete spraying. She said there would be a meeting between the new colleges and the government to decide on funding. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: "We need skilled workers to deliver the homes, schools and hospitals that communities across the country are crying out for, and today's announcement underlines our commitment to the next generation of homegrown talent."The government said that it hoped the training would see more people stay in the careers they train for, with fewer than half of further education students going on to work in the Labour MP for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket, Peter Prinsley, said it was "fantastic news" for the town, adding that it would help train the "construction workers of the future" to work on projects like the rebuild of the West Suffolk Hospital. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
