Justice Minister Nicola Sturgeon says transgender violent offenders are women

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Banned from women’s prisons, the SNP’s justice minister said the violent trans criminals at the heart of the Scottish prisons scandal are women.

Keith Brown challenged whether Isla Bryson and Tiffany Scott were trans women or predatory males, and said, “If someone presents as a trans person, we accept that at face value.”

But he said they still did not have the right to stay in women’s prisons and insisted the decision was based on an SPS risk assessment “with all the known facts”.

He denied that his insistence on trusting the SPS had undermined him by preventing the service from sending more transgender people to women’s prisons.

Mr Brown also said the Scottish government would not review its gender recognition reform bill in light of the Bryson and Scott cases to provide more protection for women’s spaces.

Alastair Jack, the Scottish minister, has vetoed the legislation, which would allow people to identify themselves as their legal gender by simply signing a legal declaration, over fears it would undermine protections for women across the UK.

However, current SPS guidelines already state that trans offenders must be sent to a prison that matches the self-identified gender in which they lived prior to their conviction.

isolated in a male prison

A review of that policy is under way, and on Sunday Mr Brown announced a temporary ban on any transgender offender already in custody with “any history of violence against women” transferred to women’s ownership.

He also said that newly convicted or remanded transgender people in this category would not be placed in the women’s prison, including those found guilty of sex crimes. Instead, they will be segregated in a men’s prison.

The ban includes Isla Bryson, who was sent to Corinton Valley Women’s Prison last week after being found guilty of two rapes. The chief justices wanted Bryson sent to the men-only Barliny prison in Glasgow.

Bryson was named Adam Graham when the rapes were committed and has not legally changed his gender.

But SPS guidelines allowing offenders to self-identify their sex meant the rapist was initially sent to Cornton Vale. After massive public outcry, Bryson was transferred to the men’s cell at Edinburgh’s Soughton Prison.

The ban also includes one of Scotland’s most violent prisoners, Tiffany Scott, who stalked a 13-year-old girl when she was identified as Andrew Burns. It is understood that Scott is not undergoing treatment and has not been medically remitted.

Rapist and sexual offender

Although Mr Brown denied a final decision had been made, it was reported over the weekend that Scott’s transfer to the women’s prison had also been approved.

Sturgeon last week declined to comment on whether she considered Bryson to be a man or a woman, insisting that the decision as to which prison the 31-year-old was sent to was based on the offender being a “rapist and sex offender”.

Asked whether Bryson and Scott were trans women or violent males trying to game the system, Brown told BBC Radio Scotland: “If someone presents as a transgender person, we accept that at face value; what we don’t accept is that this It gives them the right to go to the prison property of their choice.”

He added, “It’s not transgender people, or transgender people who are a danger to women in general, it’s the male predators. I think it’s important to keep that in mind.”

After insisting on the future of gender-specific legislation, he said “we will not reverse this law” and denied that it needed more guarantees for women.

The Minister for Justice said she already had “a requirement to allow the police to make an order that would stop someone from moving towards” obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC).

Five trans criminals in women’s prisons

His ban does not include the five trans criminals already serving their sentences in women’s prisons, but he said he understands there is no history of violence against women.

In exceptional circumstances, he said, a converted woman could be taken to a women’s home but that would require the approval of Scottish ministers.

But Dr Michael Foran, a lecturer in public law at the University of Glasgow, warned that the bill would make it easier for trans women prisoners to argue they should be in women’s prisons, and warned that they could sue if their demands were rejected.

He has said that the decision on whether a trans criminal is housed in a male or female prison will be influenced by whether they have a group research center and are legally female.

Labour’s Scottish shadow secretary, Ian Murray, said the Scottish government had “failed” to deal with the events of the past week.

He said: “I think in all reasonable terms people are going to see the current cases revolving around the Isla Bryson case as inconsequential, and the Scottish government really needs to sort this out because the Equality Act is clear that single-sex places, including women’s prisons, must be protected by law.” In this case, it appears as if people are in danger.”

‘Chaos, confusion and transformations’

The Scottish Conservatives have demanded Ms Sturgeon issue a parliamentary statement to clarify Scottish government policy in the wake of “chaos, confusion and detours” by SNP ministers.

Shadow Community Safety Minister Russell Findlay also revealed plans to bring forward an amendment to the SNP’s Bail and Release from Custody Bill to introduce a legal ban on violent transgender offenders in women’s prisons.

The move will make the temporary moratorium on trans prisoners announced by Mr. Brown permanent, pending the completion of the SPS review.

Findlay said Ms Sturgeon “needs to explain the shameful mess in her government and how the safety of female prisoners can be ensured”.

He added: “We need full transparency because the only thing that is clear at the moment is that the Minister for Justice is in complete disarray. Keith Brown has only been shamed in this dramatic shift after sustained public outcry over extremely dangerous criminals.

But “pause” for criminals with a history of violence against women held in women’s prisons is not enough. We need permanent bans to protect vulnerable female prisoners.”

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