Latest news with #genderID
The Sun
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
JK Rowling brands Nicola Sturgeon a ‘complete f**kwit' in scathing review of her memoir
JK Rowling branded Nicola Sturgeon a f***wit over her gender ID views in a scathing review of her memoir. The former First Minister's memoir, Frankly, was launched today and is packed full of personal admissions and bombshells from some of the most infamous moments in her political career. 3 3 3 Harry Potter author JK penned her own review of the book which included a foul-mouthed feedback about Ms Sturgeon's time in office. Ms Rowling - a vocal critic of Ms Sturgeon over her gender self-ID bid - delivered a furious takedown of Ms Sturgeon over the scandal of male-bodied trans double-rapist Isla Bryson, previously known as Adam Graham, being sent to Cornton Vale prison in January 2023. Ms Sturgeon famously refused to say Bryson was male or female in a car-crash press conference, which came weeks before she quit as First Minister. The author wrote in her review: 'Bryson, a convicted double rapist, had decided he was a woman and would rather be incarcerated with the sex against which he'd already committed the most male of crimes. 'When asked on television whether bald, blonde wig-wearing Bryson was a man or a woman, the First Minister, whose composure and articulacy under fire had, for years, been her most potent political asset, made herself look – and forgive me for employing a PR term here – a complete f***wit.' Ms Rowling said Ms Sturgeon had made out that the 'the blame for her looking like a complete f***wit lies with others.' Raising another high-profile Scottish case, she said: 'Nobody had warned her about Bryson, you see. "She apparently had no idea that the very thing feminists had warned her was likely to happen, and had already happened – trans-identified man Katie Dolotowski had already sexually assaulted a ten-year-old girl in a public bathroom, and served his time in a women's prison in Scotland – would happen again. 'She explains in Frankly that she was worried about the impact it would have on trans people if she denied Bryson was a woman. 'Therein lies the problem in the smallest of nutshells. If you're prepared to accept the foundational falsehood that some men are women, you'll inevitably find yourself panicking like a pheasant caught in headlights one day, because to admit that even a single man who says he's a woman isn't means the whole edifice of gender self-ID collapses.' Five of the biggest BOMBSHELL moments from Nicola Sturgeon's new memoir Ms Rowling widened her criticism of the ex First Minister with a rundown on subjects not focused on in the memoir, called Frankly. Following praise for the book from commentators south of the border, Ms Rowling scornfully mentioned 'liberal London' types who also hailed her pandemic performance. Ms Rowling wrote: 'Her English fans can't be expected to know about every single cluster**** over which the supposedly competent Sturgeon presided, and they certainly won't find out about them from Frankly. 'The mysteriously vanished government WhatsApp messages from the pandemic, the tanking educational outcomes, the CalMac Ferry disaster, the disappearance of a half a million pounds of her own supporters' money that was supposedly ringfenced for a new independence referendum: you'll search in vain for candid accounts of these in Frankly; indeed, most aren't mentioned at all. 'Perhaps the most disgraceful omission – and I'll admit to a personal interest here, because I'm married to a doctor who used to run a methadone clinic, so saw the national scandal up close – is the fact that Scotland continues to lead the whole of Europe in drug deaths.' Ms Rowling's review was titled "The Twilight of Nicola Sturgeon" and poked fun at Ms Sturgeon with a comparison between her and Bella Swan, the heroine of Twilight book and movie series. She says they are borth "shy, awkward, bookish girls" who move to "small, rainswept towns" - one called Forks, one Dreghorn in Ayrshire. Ms Rowling quotes a line saying "I don't yet realise it but in this moment the course of my life will be set. Everything that has gone before has been leading me here". And she adds: "These are Sturgeon's words, but they could just as easily be Bella Swan's, for both shy, insecure teenagers have dates with destiny. Nicola Sturgeon will one day become First Minister of Scotland. Bella Swan will join the ranks of the undead." Delivering the verdict on the book as a whole, Ms Rowling says: "And so to the three hundred thousand pound question: is Frankly a good read? "Honestly, only if you find Nicola Sturgeon so fascinating the dull details of her political decision-making intrigue you, and are prepared to accept all her special pleading. "The biggest impediment to enjoyment is that Sturgeon, like Bella Swan, has a complete void where a sense of humour should be. "Bella's best attempt at a witticism in Twilight is when she says, in answer to a query as to why she isn't tanned, 'my mother is half albino'. The only time Sturgeon makes what I think is supposed to be a joke is when she says of a teenage boyfriend, 'His nickname was Sparky (he wasn't an aspiring electrician).'" She adds that "most of the time, Frankly reads like a PR statement that's been through sixteen drafts" and says: "The best anecdote is on page 120, when Sean Connery teaches Sturgeon an acting trick to lower her voice. But if you're looking for a more scintillating read, I recommend The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht – especially if you want the real low down on the dystopian nightmare Sturgeon's gender beliefs have imposed on Scottish women." And poking fun at Ms Sturgeon's apparent modesty in passages of the book, Ms Rowling pointed to various boasts in Frankly. She wrote: "Sturgeon's alleged imposter syndrome and constant crises of confidence don't prevent her admitting to 'the raw talent I had for politics', or that 'I certainly wasn't lacking in ability', that 'far from being the weak link, I was seemingly the star attraction', 'it all added to the sense that I had the Midas touch' or that 'there is no doubt that I was a massive electoral asset.'"
The Sun
10-08-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Nicola Sturgeon reveals mistake over controversial gender ID row in bombshell ITV interview
NICOLA Sturgeon has admitted she made a mistake in how she handled the controversial gender ID row. The former First Minister has spoken to ITV News in an exclusive interview ahead of her memoir being released next week. 4 4 4 And in a sneak preview ahead of the full interveiw being aired on Monday night, Ms Sturgeon told ITV's Julie Etchingham she did not predict the anger from opponents to the bill. She said: 'I didn't anticipate as much as I should, or engage as much as I should, on some of the concerns that might then be triggered.' But the ex-SNP leader insisted her backing of trans rights was still correct - but admitted she should have 'taken a step back'. She added: 'I fervently believe that the rights of women and the interests of trans people are not irreconcilable at all. I should have taken a step back and said, 'How do we achieve this?'.' Her reverse-ferret is the latest twist in the saga over self-ID laws which go back to 2017 when the SNP first revealed the planned legal changes. The law would have removed the need for trans people to be diagnosed with so-called gender dysphoria by a doctor in order to change their legally-recognised sex via a process known as a gender recognition certificate. It also planned to lower the age someone could apply for one from 18 to 16, and cut the amount of time someone would have to live in their 'acquired gender' from two years to just three months. The plans sparked outcry from feminist groups despite being backed by LGBT organisations - who warned they would allow biological men into single sex spaces and increasing the risk of sexual assault or harassment. They were also heavily criticised by high profile critics including Harry Potter author JK Rowling who blasted Ms Sturgeon as the 'destroyer of women's rights'. In December 2022 after months of furious debate, MSPs from all parties passed the bill 86 votes to 39. Nicola Sturgeon reveals her sexuality 'isn't binary' in bombshell new book However, it was blocked from becoming law by the then-Tory UK Government who were challenged in court by the Scottish Government under Humza Yousaf's leadership. This cost taxpayers more than £375,000 in costs to the UK and Scottish Governments. The SNP also chose to fight two legal challenges from For Women Scotland about the definition of a woman - with costs expected to top £625,000. In April, judges ruled that the definition of 'woman' under equality law was biological women - hailed as a "victory for common sense" by campaigners. Ms Sturgeon faced furious pressure after trans double rapist, Isla Bryson, born Adam Graham, was housed in a women's prison. She refused to say whether the beast was a man or a woman and as recently as January doubled down, stating: 'That person was a rapist.' In the same interview, she also rejected the suggestion she hadn't taken feminist concerns about the rules seriously. Ms Sturgeon said: 'The legal system we were trying to introduce has existed in the Republic of Ireland for years without any of the terrible consequences that were predicted here. 'If I was to sit here today and say I just wouldn't do it, that would be to make my own life easier.' She previously claimed opponents to the bill were criticising the bill with a 'cloak of acceptability to cover up what is transphobia'. The ex-Nats chief said some critics were: 'deeply misogynist, often homophobic, possibly some of them racist as well'. And after the UK's equality watchdog said trans people should be banned from single sex facilities like bathrooms, Ms Sturgeon said the rules could make the lives of trans people 'almost unliveable'. She said: 'I think that potentially makes the lives of trans people almost unliveable. 'It certainly doesn't make a single woman any safer to do that because the threat to women comes from predatory and abusive men.' The full interview airs on ITV tomorrow night at 7pm.
