Latest news with #HMPGreenock
Daily Record
25-05-2025
- Daily Record
Female prisoner claims she was blocked from parole over 'trans' abuse of inmate
'I'm not transphobic- I just don't like Alex as a person." A female prisoner has claimed she was blocked from applying for parole for four years after being accused of an anti-trans hate campaign against a killer. Jayney Sutherley stood accused of trans-phobic verbal abuse towards murderer Alex Stewart, formerly Alan Baker, and child killer lover Nyomi Fee inside HMP Greenock between 2019 and 2023. However the hate crime case against Sutherley was found not proven, and Sheriff Millar added that referring to a trans person by their 'original biological state' was not transphobic. Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Mail from HMP Polmont, the grandmother said: 'I am so glad this case is over. When I left the dock, my legs buckled. I've not stopped crying.' Sutherley's solicitor told Greenock Sheriff Court Stewart only complained four years after the alleged abuse began after the case of rapist Isla Bryson in 2023 which resulted in prison service policies on where trans lags are housed being placed under review. Hairdresser Sutherley, 51, who killed a man with scissors, has told how she was denied being able to apply for parole due to the case which she believes was a bid by male-born Stewart to stay in a female jail. She added: 'Because of Alex I have lost three years of my life and precious time with my granddaughter. 'My latest parole hearing was the day of the trial. But I couldn't go with this hanging over my head, I had to be in court. 'This has stopped me progressing towards parole for years. I might not have been given parole at each hearing, but I was denied even the chance to try. 'These claims from Alex all came about when trans prisoners were put on notice and locked up for a month, when Nicola Sturgeon couldn't make up her mind after the Isla Bryson case. Trans prisoners feared getting moved to male jails. ' Alex wasn't scared of me. Despite knowing my crime, I killed a man with scissors, Alex still requested the prison salon to be opened for me to do hair for their art graduation. Why do that if you think I'm transphobic and you're afraid of me?' Bryson, born Adam Graham, began to identify as a woman while awaiting trial for rape. Bryson was sent to female jail Cornton Vale before ex-First Minister Sturgeon announced a switch to all-male HMP Edinburgh. Trans cons faced being moved to male jails but prison chiefs opted to let them stay if they had not shown violence to women. In April Britain's highest court ruled only two biological sexes – male and female, assigned at birth – can be recognised under the 2010 Equality Act. But Sutherley says existing SPS policies leave female cons at risk of facing similar sanctions to her if they're accused of being transphobic. Sutherley added: 'I don't have a problem with trans women. I am friends with Paris Green, who is trans. 'I just don't like Alex Stewart as a person, that is not a crime. I don't want to talk to Nyomi or make Christmas cards with her because she killed a baby. 'The system needs to change, the SPS needs to start listening to the majority and stop being scared of the minority. 'In women's jails, trans prisoners are given so many more privileges as people are afraid to get it wrong. There is no segregation in Greenock so when I was in the shower Alex would be in the cubicle next to me. 'But Alex would have all day to shower, we wouldn't. 'Nyomi and Alex run the jail. No-one can say anything in fear of being accused of being transphobic and end up with a court case hanging over their heads for four years. I don't want this to happen to any other women.' Hairdresser Sutherley was jailed for six years and eight months in 2020 for killing Alistair MacFadyen in Paisley. Stewart, 37, changed gender in 2016 after being jailed three years earlier for murdering dad-of-two John Weir. Fee was ordered to serve a minimum of 24 years after she and ex Rachel Trelfa, 34, were convicted in 2016 of killing Rachel's two-year-old son Liam. Bryson, 33, was convicted of raping women, as Graham in 2023 and jailed for eight years, with a further three on licence. Kate Coleman, former director of Keep Prisons Single Sex, said: 'The impact on Jayney has been immense.' The Parole Board for Scotland said they do not comment on individual cases. A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: 'Our staff work hard to support the health, safety, and wellbeing of all people living and working in Scotland's prisons. 'We have received the Supreme Court's judgement and are considering any potential impact it may have.'
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
JK: I will fund the legal actions of women forced to share prisons with men
JK Rowling has offered to bankroll the legal campaigns of female prisoners who have been forced to share jails with biological men. Killer Jane Sutherley is considering legal action against the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) after she was forced to share facilities with transgender women. She is one of potentially 'hundreds of women who have grounds for legal action' over the controversial trans policy, it was yesterday warned, and the wave of cases could end up costing a substantial sum. And Ms Rowling, one of the world's most foremost campaigners on women's rights, has now revealed she would be willing to help fund the campaigns. The Harry Potter author said: 'Of course I'd give financial backing to any women who wanted to sue because she suffered detriments through being incarcerated with a man. 'Women being locked up with men is a human rights violation. Vulnerable women being forced to agree that a man is a woman is a human rights violation. 'A surgically altered man is not a 'fully anatomical woman'. Saying these things is not hate, but truth.' Latest public figures from the SPS reveal there are 16 trans prisoners north of the Border, including killer Alexandra Stewart who was born male and called Alan Baker. Stewart was locked up with women at HMP Greenock, and struck up a relationship with child killer Nyomi Fee. This week Sutherley was acquitted of a four-year long campaign against Stewart and Fee, and it is understood that she is now taking legal advice on action against the SPS. Susan Smith, of For Women Scotland, yesterday warned the SPS that their policies broke the law and had done for years. She warned: 'We imagine there are potentially hundreds of women who have grounds for legal action over a policy which was degrading, humiliating and breached their human rights as well as equality law. 'We have always said that it was only a matter of time before a prisoner took action. 'The Government and the SPS have been guilty of arrogance and complacency - as well as a brutal disregard for these vulnerable women - and it is likely to cost them a great deal.' For Women Scotland are responsible for the stunning court room victory over the Scottish Government, one which has sent public organisations and private firms into a panic after their trans policies were ruled to be unlawful. But rather than act immediately, many have insisted on waiting for the Equalities and Human Rights Commission to finish a consultation on its updated statutory guidance on applying the Equality Act. In April's landmark Supreme Court ruling the words 'women' and 'sex' in the 2010 Act were found to refer to biological women and biological sex. Following the judgment, the equality watchdog issued updated guidance, which said that trans women 'should not be permitted to use the women's facilities' in workplaces or public facing services such as shops or hospitals, with the same applying for trans men using men's toilets. The SPS transgender policies are currently that trans prisoners can be housed in facilities of their desired gender, but this would only happen when 'staff have enough information to reach a decision that a trans individual can be safely accommodated'. The service, which said it had an 'individualised approach', said it 'ensures that any transgender woman with a history of violence against women and girls, who presents a risk to women and girls, will not be placed in the women's estate'. But Ms Smith said: 'The SPS has had ample warning that they were operating an unlawful policy. 'Even before our recent victory in the Supreme Court, the Inner House established that the sort of self-identification policies employed by the SPS were not permitted under the Equality Act.' A Scottish Prison Service spokesman said: 'Our staff work hard to support the health, safety and wellbeing of all people living and working in Scotland's prisons. 'We have received the Supreme Court judgment and are considering any potential impact it may have.'
Times
22-05-2025
- Times
Prison let killer and trans lover meet despite segregation rule
Alarm has been raised over allegations that a Scottish prison allowed a transgender inmate to have a sexual relationship with a fellow offender. Inmates at HMP Greenock expressed concerns about apparent 'favouritism' being shown to the couple, Greenock sheriff court was told on Monday. Alexandria Stewart, formerly Alan Baker, and Nyomi Fee, who are both serving sentences in Greenock's women's wing for murder, have been together since 2019. There were allegations in court that the pair had been allowed to shower together and that a blind eye was turned to sexual behaviour. Stewart told Greenock sheriff court in January that she had undergone a tracheal shave in 2019 to reduce the prominence of her Adam's apple, but had otherwise had no surgery as part
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Killer set to sue Scotland's prison service after she was forced to share jail with a man
A female killer who was forced to share a jail with a biological man is considering taking legal action against the prison service. Jane Sutherley, who is behind bars for culpable homicide, is understood to be taking legal advice on a claim against the Scottish Prison Service after she had to share facilities with transgender women. It comes after she was this week acquitted of being abusive and deliberately misgendering a fellow inmate. Murderer Alexandria Stewart, who was born Alan Baker, was locked up with women at HMP Greenock and claimed Sutherley mounted a four-year campaign of abuse. Stewart, 37, is serving a life-sentence for murder and is in a relationship within the prison with fellow killer Nyomi Fee. Stewart was said to be left feeling suicidal due to the 51-year-old former hairdresser's behaviour, but Sheriff Thomas Millar at found the claims not proven and said that referring to the 'original biological state' of a person is not necessary 'transphobic'. Sutherley's defence lawyer yesterday said his client had lost out on a chance of gaining parole because of the charges which had been hanging over her, and said the case should have 'never made it to court'. Criminal lawyer Paul Lynch said: 'The only time a complaint was made against Ms Sutherley was after she stood up for the rights of her fellow female inmates following the publicity surrounding the case of Adam Graham, which caused a media storm and resulted in the Scottish Prison Service re-routing Adam Graham from Cornton Vale back to the male estate.' Since the Supreme Court verdict, which ruled the legal definition of sex is defined by biology and not self-identification or gender certificates, he has written to the SPS twice seeking confirmation their trans policy will be urgently reviewed. But the lawyer has not had 'so much as an acknowledgement from the SPS', he said. Rhona Hotchkiss, a retired prison governor, said: 'The Scottish Prison Service has been breaking their own rules from the beginning on this. 'It's quite clear from their rules that, and the Act laid down in Parliament to approve the rules, that the two sexes must be kept apart. 'If Ms Sutherland wins you can bet your bottom dollar that every other woman who has been forced to share facilities with these male bodied people will do the same, and you can imagine a class action being brought.' 'I have no idea what any payout might be but whatever it is, even if it's small, you'd have to multiply that by hundreds and hundreds of potential cases.' Dr Kate Coleman, former director of Keep Prisons Single Sex, said: 'Does First Minister John Swinney really want this to be his Isla Bryson moment?' Double rapist Isla Bryson, who was born Adam Graham, was the centre of a poltical storm after being remanded to Cornton Vale women's prison despite being a biological man. Bryson decided to transition from being a man to a woman while awaiting trial. A SPS spokesman said: 'Our staff work hard to support the health, safety and wellbeing of all people living and working in Scotland's prisons. 'We have received the Supreme Court judgement and are considering any potential impact it may have.'
Daily Record
19-05-2025
- Daily Record
Scissor killer cleared over trans prison row after court hears of murderers' jail shower sex
Killer hairdresser Jayney Sutherley was cleared of a four-year transphobic abuse campaign. A killer who was accused of a four-year anti-trans hate campaign was cleared after a court heard about claims that her 'victim' - a biological male - had sex sessions in the shower block with their female lover. Jayne Sutherley, who killed a man with scissors, had been accused of hounding trans murderer Alex Stewart and his lover Nyomi Fee, a notorious child killer inside HMP Greenock. But the case against Sutherley was found not proven after Greenock Sheriff Court heard claims that 'suicidal' trans woman Stewart, 36, had been more stressed about being moved out of the women's prison and into the male estate. The court previously heard how Stewart claimed to have suicidal feelings after alleged transphobic outbursts by Sutherley. These included being told she should sing Shania Twain's 'Man, I Feel Like a Woman' at a Christmas karaoke at HMP Greenock. Sutherley had also been accused of referring to the couple as "the trannie and the beast' and 'the trannie and the dyke'. But the Paisley hairdresser was cleared on a not proven verdict after Sheriff Millar believed there was a reasonable doubt. During evidence yesterday, Sutherley's solicitor Paul Lynch was told by Fee that Stewart - who still has full male genitalia - used Darroch Hall's only shower block. Lynch said: 'One complaint by some inmates was about you and Alex Stewart having sexual activity in the showers?' Fee said no such complaint had ever reached her and that it had not been logged in the jail's 'intel' system. Lynch also put to Fee that other women prisoners were made to feel uncomfortable after they both placed coats over their laps in a public part of the prison and were engaging in a sexual act. The lawyer also extracted from Fee that she had discussed her evidence in advance with Stewart - despite the sheriff instructing her not too after an earlier adjournment two months ago. After the sheriff gave his judgement, Lynch said his client had been denied parole due to this case hanging over her. He revealed that he has written to the Scottish Prison Service twice to ask if they will now abandon the policy that allows biological males to be housed in the male estate. He said the recent Supreme Court decision - which states that biology defines a person's sex - should be observed. Lynch said: 'This is a case that should never have been brought to court. 'If the SPS had acted lawfully at the time Alex Stewart would not have been in Darroch Hall. It is that action that led to the situation today. Lynch said the 'most telling' and significant evidence in the case was the fact Stewart only complained about Sutherley's alleged abuse - four years after it allegedly started - after the controversial case of Isla Bryson blew up in the world media. Double rapist Bryson had changed gender after being accused of attacking women and was set for a female jail until a public outcry in January 2023. All trans prisoners in women's jails were then put on a 'Rule 95' - which meant they were detained in their cells and faced being moved out to the male estate. The SPS later decided to allow prisoners to stay if they had not shown violence against women, subject to risk assessments. Lynch said: 'The timing of the complaint by Alex Stewart was the most telling piece of evidence in this case.' The trial also heard that from Nyomi Fee an admission that her lover was scared because she feared she would be moved out of Greenock. Fee said: 'Alex hasn't been the same since she was put on that rule. She is scared. 'I spoke to her. She was upset and confused. She hadn't done anything.' Sheriff Millar said he was left unconvinced as he heard little evidence from SPS officers, despite claims that internal prison investigations had been conducted onto the allegations. He said: 'The Crown has not produced anything that could be called corroboration outside of that grouping [the three prisoners. 'The court was told that prison officers spoke to the accused, prison staff investigated and Her Majesty's Inspectorate carried out an investigation. 'And yet a prison officer who should have known about the matters did not know about them. 'That has served to leave a doubt in my mind. 'It is because of that doubt, to which you are entitled to benefit, that I find the matter not proven.' Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Dr Kate Coleman, of the Keep Prisons Single Sex pressure group, said the case shows how biological males should not be in the female estate. She said: 'Alex Stewart should never have been in a women's prison. The Supreme Court judgment makes it clear that he is no more entitled to be there than any other man serving a prison sentence. Why is the Scottish Prison Service so reluctant to comply with both the law and common decency and remove him, and all other male prisoners, to the male estate? 'I welcome today's verdict. But this entire case, where the witnesses for the prosecution colluded on their evidence, has been She saan injustice. 'Jayney has still been punished. Aside from the considerable psychological and emotional toll, she has repeated missed out on the possibility of parole. The process is indeed the punishment. This case should never have come to court, not least because Alex Stewart should never have been in a women's prison.' A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: 'Our staff work hard to support the health, safety, and wellbeing of all people living and working in Scotland's prisons. We have received the Supreme Court's judgement and are considering any potential impact it may have."
