Latest news with #JoannaCherry
The National
07-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Joanna Cherry does not speak for LGB people like me
Three weeks ago, Ms Cherry was seen on national TV celebrating outside the Supreme Court with the 'gender-critical' groups For Women Scotland and Sex Matters. Last week, Sex Matters published a letter they have just written to NHS England and the UK Government, which calls for all young trans people to be blocked from transitioning. This is proposed on the basis that their life as trans people will be much more difficult after the court's judgment. The letter says 'their future lives and freedoms will be seriously curtailed'. Hyperbole or fact? READ MORE: Joanna Cherry slates Nicola Sturgeon response to Supreme Court ruling Ms Sturgeon made clear that it is not the judgment itself, but the way it will be interpreted, that matters most. I hope, but doubt, that Ms Cherry will stand with those calling for an interpretation that minimises the harm caused. For example, that organisations that wish to make public that they will continue to include trans women in their facilities for women should be able to do so. But I suspect that Ms Cherry will align with those wanting a hardline interpretation that would ban trans people from any and all facilities matching their gender identity. The effects of that are made clear in the heart-breaking website comment you published on Wednesday from Jessica McMartin. No hyperbole there, just the very real fears of a very real trans person. Ms Cherry claims to speak for LGB people. YouGov research found that only 6% of lesbians agree with her. 84% support trans people, and 10% are neutral. Anyone doubting that could go to any one of the 20-plus Pride events around Scotland this summer, where they will see huge numbers of LGB people marching in solidarity with their trans siblings. Joanna Cherry certainly does not speak for them or for me. Tim Hopkins Edinburgh WE are a group of gay men from across Scotland who form the Scotland arm of HumanGayMale (an organisation for gay men who reject gender identity ideology). We are writing to urge the Scottish Government to withdraw from the Stonewall Diversity Champions initiative, to stop funding Stonewall, and for John Swinney to encourage all government departments, agencies, and public bodies in Scotland to do the same. Following the UK Supreme Court ruling on the meaning of 'sex' in the Equality Act 2010, it has become apparent that many organisations and institutions, including the Scottish Government, have previously been misled in their understanding of the Act. READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon breaks silence on Supreme Court gender ruling This is, in no small part, the result of the misinformation propagated by Stonewall, in particular through its various workplace schemes and training. Since the ruling, Stonewall has continued to misrepresent the situation by suggesting that the outcome is not yet law and is encouraging Diversity Champion Scheme members to not make any changes to policies or practice in light of the ruling. Stonewall continues to push an agenda of 'gender identity' being paramount to sex. This is an ideology that says how you feel is more important than the reality of biological sex. In doing so, it erases what it means to be same-sex-attracted. As gay men, Stonewall is telling us that being gay means being 'same gender' attracted, and that a heterosexual female who identifies as a gay man must be accepted as a gay man. Lesbians are also being told the same thing about heterosexual men who identify as women. This is the modern equivalent of conversion therapy. It is a slap in the face that the Scottish Government is actively funding Stonewall (with public money) and participating in the ideological indoctrination scheme that effectively erases what it means to be gay. We urge John Swinney to stand up for and protect the rights of gay men and lesbians across Scotland. READ MORE: LGBT+ Americans living in Scotland fear return to Trump's US Much like women's rights groups, our HumanGayMale meetings in Scotland are forced to be held in secret, lest adherents of the 'LGBTQ+' lobby try to shut us down for refusing to believe 'transmen' can be gay men. The Supreme Court ruling has made clear that our meetings are legal and that we can legitimately exclude all women from our events, even those who call themselves gay men. If John Swinney truly wants to help gay people and understand the perspectives of gay men on this topic, he would do well to read the report from the Gay Men's Conference 2025. Or he could send a representative to take part in the Scotland version of this conference in July this year. HumanGayMale, Scotland Group THE BBC are up to their tricks again with River City, trying to reduce the viewing figures. Once again they have stopped broadcasting the series, after potentially killing off one of the main characters. There is nothing they will replace this with that will have any relevance to Scotland, and its loss will destroy the futures of a lot of talented people. It may only be another soap, but it mirrors Scotland and its people. Norman Robertson via email
Daily Mail
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Sturgeon finally breaks her silence over Supreme Court gender ruling... but STILL refuses to apologise
Nicola Sturgeon yesterday refused to apologise to the women wronged by her failed gender ideology despite a crushing defeat at the Supreme Court. The former First Minister caused more outrage by insisting she had always campaigned for 'the protection and the enhancement of women's rights' and recognised 'different views'. She was branded 'snide' after describing the successful court challenge brought against the SNP Government as 'purportedly' about protecting women and claimed twice as many women backed her views as opposed them. The Scottish Conservatives said she had 'betrayed women' and must say sorry. Former SNP MP Joanna Cherry KC, who was ostracised by party colleagues for resisting Ms Sturgeon's gender crusade, accused her of 'trying to rewrite history.' For Women Scotland (FWS), the campaigners who won in Court, said it was 'laughable' for the ex-SNP leader to claim she had listened to views she infamously trashed as 'not valid'. Giving her first response to last month's landmark judgment, Ms Sturgeon said she feared the ruling could make 'the lives of trans people almost 'unliveable' and even hinted existing UK law might have to be changed. Former lawyer Ms Sturgeon said she accepted the Court ruling was 'the law of the land' but said it 'remains to be seen' if it can be put into practice fairly for trans people. She said: 'I've spent my life campaigning for the protection and the enhancement of women's rights, and I bow to nobody on that. But I also think it's really important that the tiny, tiny number of people who are trans in this country get to live with dignity and in a way that they feel safe and accepted in society for who they are.' Asked if she owed FWS and Ms Cherry an apology, given they felt their views were ignored over the GRR Bill, she said: 'On both of those I fundamentally disagree, fundamentally and respectfully disagree. 'I've always recognised the different views on this. But I think it's important that respect runs in both directions. 'For any group or any individual, me included, to say that their view is the only view that carries weight, or the only view that has support, I just think is fundamentally [wrong].' Talking to the media at Holyrood, she also attacked interim guidance on how public bodies should respond to the ruling issued by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). She would be 'very concerned' if the advice, which says trans women should not use toilets intended for biological women, was confirmed as the final guidance in the summer. The UK's highest court ruled unanimously that 'biological sex', not gender choice or a gender certificate, determines a person's rights under the UK Equality Act 2010. The decision puts women-only spaces off limits to biological males who identify as women. If followed FWS challenging a 2018 Holyrood law about gender balance on public boards. SNP ministers argued transgender women should count towards a 50:50 target. But the Court said this was 'unworkable' and declared sex was 'binary' and a person was either a man or a woman, according to biology. Critics said the ruling proved the SNP's failed Gender Recognition Bill (GRR), which would have let men legally declare themselves women through self-ID, was deeply reckless. Asked about SNP ministers delaying a new law to tackle misogyny following the ruling, she said archly: 'There would be an irony if a court action [by FWS] that was purportedly - and I use that word deliberately - purportedly about protecting women, ends up seeing a halt to a Misogyny Bill that is actually about protecting women.' FWS co-founder Susan Smith added: 'Nicola Sturgeon never cared for the women whose lives she upended by allowing any and all men to self-identify their way into women's facilities. Women in prison, in hospital, in domestic violence shelters said the policies championed by the SNP made their lives unliveable and unsafe while lesbian women were bullied and harassed, including by men feted by Sturgeon and her MSPs. 'We aren't surprised by her refusal to apologise but it's laughable to claim that our views were listened to.' Scottish Tory deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said: 'Nicola Sturgeon betrayed women and divided Scotland with her reckless gender self-ID policy, yet she still can't bring herself to apologise. 'Gender self-ID was always nonsense - and now the Supreme Court has declared it unlawful too. 'Nicola Sturgeon needs to hold her hands up and say sorry to the women of Scotland.' Ms Cherry said: 'To say that The Supreme Court judgment means we are 'at risk of making the lives of trans people almost unliveable' is the sort of fatuous hyperbole that she has indulged in in relation to these issues from the outset. 'It's a simply not true to say that all opinions were taken account of in this debate. 'She branded the views of those of us who pointed out the implications for the rights of women, including lesbians, as 'not valid' and she called us transphobes bigots, racists and homophobes. 'Her snide suggestion that the supreme Court judgement has stymied the Misogyny Bill has no basis in fact. 'Nicola Sturgeon is trying to rewrite history in relation to these matters, but those of us who fought her every inch of the way in her attack on the rights of women and LGB people will not let her do so.' Former Tory Scottish Secretary Alister Jack, who stopped the GRR Bill becoming law, told ITV Border both Ms Sturgeon and John Swinney should apologise to the women who fought the legal case.
Telegraph
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Nicola Sturgeon: I do not need to apologise to women after Supreme Court ruling
A defiant Nicola Sturgeon has refused to apologise for her gender policy after the Supreme Court ruled trans women are not women. The former first minister said she did not need to say sorry to women for legislation tabled by her government that would have allowed biological men to change legal gender by simply signing a declaration. In her first substantive comments on the April 16 ruling, Ms Sturgeon said feminists who took the Scottish Government to court did not represent 'every woman in the country'. She claimed women with concerns about self-ID were outnumbered two-to-one by those who 'have a different view' about the policy. 'Lives could become unliveable' Although she said she accepted the court's ruling, she warned the manner in which it will be 'translated into practice' could make 'the lives of trans people almost unliveable'. She said she would be 'very concerned' if interim advice issued by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) that only biological women can use female-only safe spaces 'became the final guidance'. But Joanna Cherry KC, a former SNP MP who opposed self-ID, accused Ms Sturgeon of branding women who opposed self-ID as 'bigots' and said her behaviour had been 'a disgrace'. Ms Sturgeon's intervention came during her first appearance at the Scottish Parliament since the ruling. The Glasgow Southside MSP has been accused of going into hiding and 'moral cowardice' for failing to respond to the judgment. Ms Sturgeon's only previous comments on the landmark ruling have been that that 'my views are well known', after she was tracked down at an SNP event in Glasgow. Her government's controversial Gender Recognition Reform (GRR) Bill introducing gender self-ID was passed at Holyrood but vetoed by the UK Government over concerns it undermined women's safe spaces. But it has emerged that swathes of Scotland's public sector adopted self-ID all the same, allowing trans people access to female toilets and changing rooms. Experts have warned these practices will have to be scrapped following the Supreme Court's ruling that the definition of a woman is based on biological sex, and does not include trans women. Ms Sturgeon has previously claimed some opponents of the GRR Bill were transphobic. In January 2023, the month before she stepped down as first minister, she said: 'You'll also find that they're deeply misogynist, often homophobic, possibly some of them racist as well.' 'I fundamentally disagree' Asked about calls for her to apologise to Ms Cherry and For Women Scotland, the group that brought the court case, Ms Sturgeon said: 'On both of those I fundamentally disagree, fundamentally and respectfully disagree.' Pressed why she should not say sorry, the former first minister insisted that 'all opinions' were taken into account before the GRR Bill was passed with the support of MSPs across all parties. She added: 'I've always actually recognised the different views on this, but I think it's important that respect runs in both directions. 'For every woman that I know or who contacts me, and I appreciate that that is not every woman in the country, for every one that contacts me or who I know personally with concerns about this, there are probably another two who have a different view. 'So for any group or any individual, me included, to say that their view is the only view that carries weight or the only view that has support, I just think is fundamentally (wrong).' Ms Sturgeon also claimed the court ruling was only 'purportedly' about women's rights, emphasising that she was using this 'word deliberately.' Although she said she accepted it was 'the law of the land', she denied her government had been acting unlawfully and said the question was whether it could be implemented in a manner that protected women while allowing 'trans people to live their lives with dignity'. 'I think that remains to be seen. I think some of the early indications would raise concerns, in my mind that we are at risk of making the lives of trans people almost unliveable,' she told reporters at Holyrood. 'I don't think the majority of people in the country would want to see that. It certainly doesn't make a single woman any safer to do that, because the threat to women, as I think we all know comes from predatory and abusive men.' The interim EHRC advice states that 'trans women (biological men) should not be permitted to use the women's facilities' and vice versa, 'as this will mean that they are no longer single-sex facilities.' The equalities watchdog's final guidance is due to be published by the summer and Ms Sturgeon said she hoped this was not the same as the interim version because of the impact on trans people. 'Nicola Sturgeon betrayed women' Rachael Hamilton, the Scottish Tory deputy leader, said: 'Nicola Sturgeon betrayed women and divided Scotland with her reckless gender self-ID policy, yet she still can't bring herself to apologise. 'For years she arrogantly dismissed the concerns of women and girls that their rights and safety were being sacrificed, as she parroted the views of extremist gender activists and ensured they were adopted across Scotland's public sector. ' Gender self-ID was always nonsense – and now the Supreme Court has declared it unlawful too.' Ms Cherry, the former Edinburgh South West MP, tweeted: 'Nicola Sturgeon is trying to rewrite history (again) but I & 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 & an existential threat to our democracy.' Susan Smith, a For Women Scotland director, asked whether Ms Sturgeon cared that 'self-ID policies made women's lives unliveable'. She said: 'Women's dignity, privacy, and safety were compromised daily and many self-excluded from hospitals and rape crisis centres, or withdrew from sports. 'Polling makes it very clear that most people support the ruling but we suppose that a woman who can't even bring herself to acknowledge that double rapist Isla Bryson is a man, is capable of any level of self-delusion.'
The National
06-05-2025
- Automotive
- The National
Person in hospital after lorry crashes through motorway flyover barrier
Police have closed the slip road heading southbound from Broxden towards Edinburgh at Craigend after a crash (Image: North Wales Police) This article is brought to you by our exclusive subscriber partnership with our sister title USA Today, and has been written by our American colleagues. It does not necessarily reflect the view of The Herald. A PERSON is in hospital after a lorry crashed off a motorway flyover near Perth. Police have closed the slip road heading southbound from Broxden towards Edinburgh at Craigend after a crash. It has been reported that an HGV crashed through the barrier of the M90 flyover at the Craigend Interchange and landed on its roof on the A912 road below shortly after 7.30am on Tuesday. The Scottish Ambulance Service confirmed it dispatched two ambulances, an air ambulance, a trauma team, a special operations response team (SORT) and a resuscitation rapid response unit (3RU) to the scene. READ MORE: Joanna Cherry slates 'snide' Nicola Sturgeon's response to Supreme Court ruling One person has been taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, but their condition has not been confirmed. Firefighters in four appliances and one heavy rescue unit were also deployed to the scene. Drivers are being told there is currently no exit from the M90 southbound at junction ten and have been advised by Traffic Scotland to use alternative routes and expect longer journey times. A Police Scotland statement read: 'The M90 slip road heading southbound from Broxden towards Edinburgh is closed at Craigend, and the A912 is closed in both directions following a report of a road crash at 7.30am on Tuesday, 6 May, 2025. 'Emergency services are at the scene.' A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesperson said: 'We received a call at 7.30am to attend an incident at the Craigend Interchange near Perth. 'Two ambulances, an air ambulance, a trauma team, a special operations response team (SORT) and a resuscitation rapid response unit (3RU) were dispatched to the scene. 'One patient was transported to Ninewells Hospital.' Traffic is said to be 'very heavy' in the area. Traffic Scotland said: 'There is currently no exit from the M90 southbound at Junction ten due to a road traffic incident. 'Motorists are advised to use an alternative route at this time and allow extra time for their journey.' 'All lanes are restricted northbound,' they added. A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: 'We were called at 7.32am on Tuesday, May 6, to reports of a road traffic collision involving one lorry on the A90 near Perth. 'Operations Control mobilised four fire appliances and one heavy rescue unit to the scene to assist emergency partners. 'One casualty was in the care of the Scottish Ambulance Service. 'Crews left at approximately 8.56am after ensuring the area was safe.' We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We've got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country. Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren't really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse. So that's why we've decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with. The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let's get that debate started! Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Spectator
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Spectator
Watch: Sturgeon refuses to apologise to women over gender ruling
Well, well, well. Nicola Sturgeon has finally broken her silence over the Supreme Court judgment that backed the biological definition of a woman. Speaking to journalists in Holyrood today, Sturgeon insisted that while she accepts the ruling from the highest court in the land, she remains concerned about the impact on the lives of transgender people. And when she was asked whether she would now apologise to women's rights campaigners – who she has previously criticised while pushing through her gender reforms – Scotland's former first minister declined. How curious… Former SNP MP Joanna Cherry previously called for an apology from the party's former Dear Leader in the Spectator, writing that: 'No less a person than Scotland's former first minister Nicola Sturgeon called women right's campaigners like us bigots, transphobes, racists and homophobes. An apology to the women of Scotland is in order.' Yet no apology came. Today, the ex-FM was pressed by a reporter: 'For Women Scotland and Joanna Cherry feel that their views were ignored during the passage of the GRR bill and say that you owe them an apology following the Supreme Court ruling.
