Former Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon has admitted convicted rapist Isla Bryson is "a biological male" and conceded she "should have been much more straightforward" on gender identity issues. The striking admission came during her first television interview with ITV's Julie Etchingham ahead of her memoir publication this week.
Sturgeon told ITV News that "all sense of rationality" had been lost amid the furious debate over gender identity in Scotland. She acknowledged her partial responsibility for the heated discourse, saying "I should have been much more straightforward, I wasn't, but that's because of the debate. We'd lost all sense of rationality in this debate. I'm partly responsible for that."
The Bryson case
Isla Bryson, who was born Adam Graham, was convicted of raping two women and initially sent to a women's prison before being transferred to a male facility. The case became a flashpoint in Scotland's gender recognition debate when it coincided with controversial self-identification reforms.
The Gender Recognition Reform Bill had been passed by Holyrood in late 2022 but was blocked by Westminster in January 2023. As the Daily Record notes, this represented a constitutional precedent when then-Scottish Secretary Alister Jack became the first to use Scotland Act powers to block legislation from receiving royal assent.
Political accountability
Sturgeon said that anyone committing "the most heinous male crime against women probably forfeits the right to be the gender of their choice" but later admitted "that probably was not the best phrase to use". When asked directly why she did not simply say Bryson is a biological male, she stated: "They are a biological male" but added the issue "gets back into the self-ID thing".
The former SNP leader's admission represents a rare moment of political accountability from a major figure who dominated Scottish politics for nearly a decade. Her acknowledgment comes as part of what appears to be a calculated political rehabilitation effort timed with her memoir "Frankly" publication.
Conservative criticism
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay accused Sturgeon of being "delusional" and said she had "ignored all warnings that gender self-ID would be a gift to male predators like Isla Bryson". He criticised her for ordering SNP MSPs to vote down attempts to block rapists and sex criminals from legally changing their gender through self-declaration.
Findlay argued that without Westminster's intervention, "every rapist in Scotland would be able to declare themselves as women with the full support of the state". As the Daily Record suggests, this case has contributed to an emerging multi-party consensus that sexual predators should not access women's prisons regardless of gender identity claims.
Sources used: "PA Media", "Daily Record"
Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
