MSPs told not to ‘misgender’ trans colleagues

The Scottish Parliament’s new Presiding Officer has been criticised for insisting MSPs use the preferred pronouns of gender-confused members of parliament.

Kenny Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, formerly of the SNP, told The Times that MSPs must be addressed in the light of “what that person wants to be called”, and “if someone doesn’t do that, then you have to call that out in the chamber and you have to take the appropriate action”.

Holyrood now has two MSPs who identify as transgender, known as Iris Duane and Dr Q Manivannan.

‘Perpetuating lies’

Campaigner Denise Findlay, one of the founding members of Alba, stated: “So MSPs are going to be compelled to deny reality. This is not being polite or respectful it is perpetuating a dangerous lie that harms women and children”.

Former Scottish senior civil servant Lucy Hunter Blackburn asked: “Will MSPs referring to Adam Graham/Isla Bryson be punished if they use ‘he’?”.

Adam Graham is a convicted rapist who was initially placed in a segregated unit in a women’s prison. In response to questions about whether he was male or female, former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon once told Holyrood: “She regards herself as a woman. I regard the individual as a rapist.”

Prisons

All men who identify as women should be immediately removed from women’s jails in Scotland, a former prison governor recently said.

Rhona Hotchkiss highlighted the case of Alan Baker — now known as Alexandra Stewart — who is housed on the women’s wing at HMP Greenock. Although he did not have a history of violence against women, he has now been charged with sexual assault against a female inmate.

Since February 2024, in accordance with Scottish Prison Service (SPS) guidance, men who hold a Gender Recognition Certificate have been eligible for admission or transfer to a women’s prison if they do not have a record of “violence against a female”.