logo
Schools must provide single-sex toilets in Scotland

Schools must provide single-sex toilets in Scotland

Lady Ross KC made the declaration after Sean Stratford and Leigh Hurley brought forward a judicial review over concerns around policy at Earlston Primary School, near Berwickshire.
It is a ruling that campaigners have warned could now set a precedent following a landmark Supreme Court judgement on the definition of a woman.
Judges determined the term woman in the 2010 Equality Act related only to biological sex - not a transgender individual with a gender recognition certificate (GRC).
It means government and public bodies are now considering a review of their policies, including on access to single-sex spaces.
Mr Stratford and Ms Hurley complained at the lack of single-sex spaces at the replacement school, where their eight-year-old son Ethan was a pupil.
The Berwickshire parents also feared their son would be reprimanded if he misgendered another pupil at the £16.6 million school.
The local authority had previously dismissed concerns, but on Wednesday morning Ruth Crawford KC accepted the terms of the declarator on behalf of the council.
READ MORE:
Maggie Chapman accuses Supreme Court of 'bigotry'
Ministers won't tell NHS Fife to settle tribunal over trans row
Analysis: Why the gender row is here to stay following Supreme Court ruling
Supreme Court ruling has significant and costly consequences for NHS Fife
That made it clear the policies at the school were unlawful, it is understood.
Ms Hurley told the Times newspaper that their son had been 'forced out' of the school.
She said: 'We felt we had no choice but to pull our child out of the school which left him devastated. As a parent, you have a right to choose where you send your children to school and ultimately we were forced out, because they were breaking the law.
'We're hoping that following this ruling, this nonsense will stop, adults pay attention and properly safeguard all children within a school setting.'
She also raised concerns about their three-year-old daughter potentially having to share communal bathrooms with boys once she joined the school.
It comes amid concerns that public bodies, including councils, hospitals and prisons, had misinterpreted equalities legislation, which led many to adopt self-ID policies.
For Women Scotland, who supported the parents, have warned that public institutions face more legal challenges while these policies continue.
Representing the parents, solicitor Rosie Walker said the Court of Session ruling was "undoubtably" the first of many.
READ MORE:
Law Society slams Chapman's Supreme Court 'bigotry' remark
Aberdonians hit out at Michael Gove's House of Lords title
Swinney: Supreme Court sex ruling provides new clarity
She told the Times: "The reality is that public bodies are subject to the Equality Act and they cannot outsource their responsibility to comply with it to campaigning bodies.'
On X, For Women Scotland said the Court of Session decision was "clear" for all schools in Scotland.
The Scottish Government has said it "accepts" the judgment of the Supreme Court and is set to meet with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) on Thursday to determine next steps.
The EHRC will present an updated code of conduct this summer which could influence guidance issued by public bodies.
Meanwhile, Scottish First Minister John Swinney repeatedly refused to say whether he believed trans women were women during a press conference in Glasgow.
The First Minister told journalists on Wednesday: 'That issue has been settled by the Supreme Court.
'The Supreme Court has given us the basis of law for that to be the case and that's what I accept.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Brazil's former president Bolsonaro temporarily leaves house arrest for medical exams
Brazil's former president Bolsonaro temporarily leaves house arrest for medical exams

The Independent

time2 hours ago

  • The Independent

Brazil's former president Bolsonaro temporarily leaves house arrest for medical exams

Brazil 's Former President Jair Bolsonaro temporarily left house arrest Saturday to undergo medical exams in Brasilia, after a judge authorized him to spend six to eight hours at a hospital. Doctors at DF Star hospital said Bolsonaro was admitted for evaluation of fever, cough, persistent gastroesophageal reflux and hiccups. Tests revealed residual signs of two recent pulmonary infections, as well as persistent esophagitis and gastritis. He was discharged later in the day and will continue treatment with medication. He has been hospitalized multiple times since being stabbed at a campaign event before the 2018 presidential election. His most recent surgery was in April, for a bowel obstruction. Bolsonaro is on trial at the Supreme Court over his alleged attempt to remain in power after losing the 2022 election to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. A five-justice panel is expected to deliver verdicts and sentences on five counts against him between Sept. 2 and 12. Bolsonaro denies any wrongdoing. The far-right leader has been under house arrest since Aug. 5. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees the case, said Bolsonaro violated precautionary measures by spreading content through his three lawmaker sons. A small group of fewer than 20 people gathered outside DF Star hospital Saturday, claiming Bolsonaro is a victim of political persecution. Some thanked U.S. President Donald Trump, who has called the prosecution a 'witch hunt' and linked his decision to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports to Bolsonaro's legal troubles. ___ Luís Rua contributed reporting in Brasilia.

I should've ordered Covid shame Catherine Calderwood to quit on spot after flouting lockdown laws, says Nicola Sturgeon
I should've ordered Covid shame Catherine Calderwood to quit on spot after flouting lockdown laws, says Nicola Sturgeon

Scottish Sun

time3 hours ago

  • Scottish Sun

I should've ordered Covid shame Catherine Calderwood to quit on spot after flouting lockdown laws, says Nicola Sturgeon

The pair gradually became pals following the scandal in 2021 TONE DEAF I should've ordered Covid shame Catherine Calderwood to quit on spot after flouting lockdown laws, says Nicola Sturgeon Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) NICOLA Sturgeon admits she was wrong not to order her Chief Medical Officer to quit on the spot after she flouted Covid lockdown laws with trips to her seaside holiday home. The ex-First Minister also said Dr Catherine Calderwood deserves 'credit' for resigning 24 hours after the scandal broke — despite her initially insisting privately that she would try to 'ride it out'. 3 Catherine Calderwood broke lockdown rules by travelling to her holiday home in Earlsferry, Fife 3 Nicola Sturgeon at the launch of her new memoir, Frankly But amid an explosion of anger across the country, Ms Sturgeon changed her mind after realising her credibility would be 'fatally undermined' if she allowed the top medic to stay in place. Dr Calderwood, from Edinburgh, was exposed by The Scottish Sun on Sunday for two 88-mile round trips to her second home in Earlsferry, Fife, at the height of the pandemic. The scandal saw her axed from telly ads telling people to stay in their own house to avoid spreading Covid and forced to resign from her £120,000-a-year government role amid hypocrisy claims. In Ms Sturgeon's book, Frankly, released on Thursday, she writes: 'With hindsight, I should have told her immediately that resignation was necessary and inevitable.' The Scottish Government at first brushed off the revelation when contacted by The Scottish Sun on Sunday on the evening of Saturday, April 4, 2021. But the next afternoon the then First Minister was bombarded with questions at a bruising TV press conference. She stood by the CMO, despite her undermining lockdown orders she had fronted for those with second homes not to travel to them to reduce the risk of spreading the disease. In her memoir, Ms Sturgeon argues that she thought losing Dr Calderwood would have 'severely disrupted' attempts to tackle the Covid crisis. She wrote: 'Losing an experienced Chief Medical Officer at this juncture was in no one's best interests. However, as I quickly came to realise, to a country in which emotions were raw and running high, it must have seemed the worst kind of politician response — detached and tone deaf.' We also revealed last year how Dr Calderwood WhatsApped fellow UK CMOs over the trips backlash saying she would 'ride it out'. Timestamps on the text suggested she sent it at around the time of the TV briefing where she stood beside the First Minister. Nicola Sturgeon backs apologetic CMO Catherine Calderwood after she was caught flouting lockdown rules Her resignation, after talks with Ms Sturgeon, was announced just before 10pm that night. The ex-SNP leader admitted in her book she was 'stunned and, initially, disbelieving' after our bombshell exclusive went live online on the Saturday night. Hoping for a rational explanation', she wrote: 'I called Catherine immediately to get her side of the story. She was shaken and apologetic, but there was no getting round the fact the essence of The Sun's claim was accurate. She had gone with her family over that weekend to her second home. 'It later transpired she had gone there the previous weekend too. 'She had interacted with no one other than her family unit. 'No one had been at any risk as a result of her actions. 'But there was no doubt she had broken the rules.' She defended the CMO at a press conference where she was 'pummelled' by journalists. But Ms Sturgeon said she slowly came to the realisation that Dr Calderwood had to go. She wrote: 'As I mulled it all over on my journey home later that evening, I knew in my gut that I was in the wrong place. I also knew if I stayed in that place, it wasn't just Catherine's credibility that would be shot. My own would be fatally undermined too. By the time I got home, I knew Catherine had to resign. 'When I spoke to her, she had reached the same conclusion. She could have dug her heels in, as I had no actual power to sack her. 'She accepted responsibility and did the right thing, in a way other senior figures caught breaking the rules didn't. This is to her credit. 'After the Covid restrictions lifted, we would catch up occasionally for coffee or a drink, and gradually became pals.'

JK Rowling compares Nicola Sturgeon to Twilight's Bella Swan
JK Rowling compares Nicola Sturgeon to Twilight's Bella Swan

The National

time6 hours ago

  • The National

JK Rowling compares Nicola Sturgeon to Twilight's Bella Swan

She accused Ms Sturgeon of being 'flat out Trumpian in her shameless denial of reality and hard facts' on issues relating to trans and women's rights. She was reviewing the former first minister's memoir. The Harry Potter author is a long-time critic of the former SNP leader and her views on gender self-ID. READ MORE: Inside the row between Scottish press and Nicola Sturgeon's team at book launch The near-3000-word review, published on her website, accuses Sturgeon, who passed gender reform legislation at Holyrood, of holding 'luxury beliefs' that have caused 'real, lasting harm' to women. The Twilight of Nicola Sturgeon My review of Franklyhttps:// — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) August 14, 2025 Rowling published her review on X alongside what appears to be an AI-generated image of Sturgeon in the woods in front of a wolf and a vampire. She said of the politician's memoir, Frankly: 'She remains stubbornly wedded to her belief that it is possible to let some men into women's spaces on the men's say so, without letting any man who fancies it come inside. 'She denies there are any risks to a policy of gender self-identification. 'She can't imagine any male predator capitalising on such policies, in spite of the fact that it has, demonstrably, happened many times. 'She is flat-out Trumpian in her shameless denial of reality and facts' Rowling, who lives in Edinburgh, said the Glasgow Southside MSP had not been 'remotely humbled' by the Supreme Court ruling that sex in the UK Equality Act referred to biological sex. The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Act, which was passed by MSPs, was ultimately scrapped by Westminster, with the then-Tory government saying it contravened equalities law. READ MORE: I went to the 'first legal wedding' at the Edinburgh Fringe – here's what it was like In her book, Sturgeon said she had never received as much abuse as when Rowling posted a picture of herself on social media with a T-shirt saying 'Nicola Sturgeon, destroyer of women's rights'. The former first minister said the post made her feel 'more at risk of possible physical harm'. Rowling defended the decision, writing in her review that she intended to encourage journalists to question Sturgeon on the impacts her gender reforms may have. She compares the MSP to Twilight character Bella Swan, saying both were 'monomaniacs', with Sturgeon being 'consumed' by independence.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store