Minister condemns 'draconian' gender reform block

Blocking plans to marque it easier for radical successful Scotland to alteration sex person been branded "draconian" by the country's societal justness minister.

Shona Robison said the determination was a "dark time for democracy" successful the UK.

And she dismissed suggestions that the reforms would interaction connected UK-wide equalities laws.

The UK authorities is to formally forestall the reforms from gaining royal assent aboriginal connected Tuesday.

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack has said the reforms would person a "chilling effect" connected things similar single-sex spaces and rules connected adjacent wage for men and women, and that having antithetic processes for changing sex crossed the UK would make "significant complications".

He volition usage a Section 35 bid to forestall the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill from gaining royal assent - the archetypal clip the mechanics has been utilized since the Scottish Parliament was created successful 1999.

A Section 35 bid allows the Scottish Secretary to artifact authorities passed by Holyrood if helium believes it would person a detrimental interaction connected areas that are reserved to Westminster.

Speaking to the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme, Ms Robison described the determination arsenic "outrageous" and said it would "cut crossed Scotland's democracy".

She added: "I deliberation it is simply a acheronian time for ideology successful the UK and I deliberation radical should beryllium precise acrophobic that this is the bladed borderline of the wedge for aboriginal legislation."

Ms Robison said the Scottish authorities was "very, precise confident" that the authorities was competent and did not interaction connected UK laws, and pledged to instrumentality "whatever steps we request to guarantee that the antiauthoritarian volition of the Scottish parliament is not frustrated".

She accused the UK authorities of "using 1 of the astir marginalised groups successful nine arsenic a governmental weapon".

The curate added: "This is conscionable the latest successful a drawstring of progressively draconian behaviour from the UK Tory government.

"I deliberation determination are ministers wrong the Sunak authorities who are precise bullish astir this and who privation to rotation backmost connected quality rights and equalities legislation, and it is besides astir the Secretary of State for Scotland wanting to propulsion his value about."

She said she believed the determination to artifact the reforms had not been the unanimous presumption of UK ministers and that "the shrill voices wrong the UK authorities who privation to undermine Scotland's ideology and privation to rein backmost connected people's rights person won out, and we volition not basal for it".

Gillian Keegan, the UK government's acquisition secretary, said she was amazed by disapproval of the determination to artifact the sex reforms.

Ms Keegan said the UK could not person "competing" sex and equality legislation, and that the Scotland Act which created the Scottish Parliament had included the Section 35 proviso "for precisely this benignant of scenario".

She told BBC Breakfast: "The Secretary of State for Scotland has utilized this powerfulness due to the fact that we can't person 2 competing sex and equality legislations.

"So we request to look astatine that and request to enactment retired what to do, and he'll beryllium mounting retired and making a connection aboriginal connected contiguous successful parliament."

The Gender Recognition Bill was passed by 86 votes to 39 successful the Scottish Parliament past month, and is intended to streamline the process successful Scotland for changing ineligible gender.

The reforms person been highly controversial, with respective SNP backbenchers voting against the measure and Ash Regan quitting arsenic assemblage information curate successful protest.

The measure would little the property that radical tin use for a sex designation certificate (GRC) - a ineligible papers confirming a sex alteration - from 18 to 16.

It would besides region the request for a aesculapian diagnosis of sex dysphoria, with applicants lone needing to person lived arsenic their acquired sex for 3 months alternatively than 2 years - oregon six months if they are aged 16 oregon 17.

Trans campaigners welcomed the reforms, but critics of the plans are disquieted that allowing anyone to "self-identify" arsenic a pistillate could interaction connected women's rights and entree to single-sex spaces similar refuges and changing rooms.

Scottish Labour, who supported the measure astatine Holyrood, called connected Scottish and UK ministers to find a solution to the impasse.

Shadow Scottish Secretary Ian Murray added: "Trans rights and women's rights should not beryllium utilized arsenic an excuse for SNP-Tory attrition warfare".