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Nicola Sturgeon has been involved in yet another car crash interview about her thoughts on trans double rapist Isla Bryson. The issue was broached on her prime time ITV interview and she failed to call him a man, instead using “they” pronouns throughout the short clip.
And her response to questioning about the criminal even shocked interviewer Julie Etchingham. Ms Sturgeon accepted that her handling of Bryson, where she repeatedly refused to say whether he was a man or a woman, hadn’t been the best, but then went on to say that rapists “probably forfeit the right to be the gender of their choice.”
Bryson, born Adam Graham, claimed that he was transitioning to become a female while awaiting trial for committing two rapes. Gender self-identification being adopted by public bodies, despite not being legal, was blamed for a scandal which saw him being initially housed in a women’s prison after he was convicted.
A public outcry led to a u-turn but the damage was already done to public opinion of Ms Sturgeon’s Gender Reform Recognition Bill. She took part in numerous interviews and exchanges at Holyrood where she refused to admit whether Bryson was male or female, with this leading to her being laughed at, and eventually contributed to her shock resignation.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon admits Covid Inquiry appearance almost drove her to breakdown as she faced the music for deleting her messages
Ms Sturgeon also voted against an amendment to the legislation, put forward by Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay, which would have stopped convicted sex offenders from self-identifying as a woman, as well as a second amendment which would have banned alleged sex offenders from using self-ID while awaiting court action. She also whipped her SNP MSPs to vote against them.
She was grilled about the Bryson scandal by ITV News broadcaster Etchingham who highlighted that she “came unstuck” on questions about the transgender rapist and “why couldn’t you answer that question?” She responded: “I think I was caught up in the..” She was interrupted and asked to “answer it now whether you believe” Bryson was a man or a woman.
Ms Sturgeon said: “Isla Bryson identified as a woman. I think what I would say now is any, anybody who commits the most heinous male crime against women probably forfeits the right to be the gender of their choice…” The interviewer highlights that this is quite strange thing to say.
The former First Minister goes on: “That was probably not the best phrase to use… If you rape a woman, then I think you probably, the debate around whether they should be called a woman or not probably…” She was interrupted again and asked that if she thinks this, then why can’t she say whether Bryson is male or female.
She responds: “Isla Bryson is a biological male. They are a biological male but that gets back into the self-ID thing. I should have been more straightforward. I wasn’t. We’d lost all sense of rationality in this debate. I’m partly responsible for that.”
‘Delusional’ Sturgeon
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay MSP said: “Frankly, Nicola Sturgeon must be delusional if she thinks the women of Scotland will swallow this drivel. She arrogantly ignored all warnings that gender self-ID would be a gift to male predators like Isla Bryson.
“And she ordered her SNP MSPs to vote down my attempts to block rapists and other sex criminals from being able to legally change their gender by self-declaration. Her absurd ideological belief in self-ID collapses with her belated mealy-mouthed admission that this rapist is a man, but she still can’t bring herself to say sorry for all the pain and misery she has caused.
“Let’s not forget that if it was not for Alister Jack’s common-sense decision to block Sturgeon’s dangerous law, every rapist in Scotland would be able to declare themselves as women with the full support of the state.”
Her comments were mocked by gender critical women, with former SNP MSP Joan McAlpine, who was scapegoated by Ms Sturgeon over her views, simply writing “probably” with an eye-rolling emoji. Ex Labour MP Tom Harris wrote: “She says Bryson should forfeit the right to choose his own gender and then continues to refer to him as ‘they.’ ‘We’d lost all sense of rationality in this debate.’ ‘We’, first minister?”
Ms Sturgeon was previously slated by opponents for being “untrustworthy” after admitting that she thought she should have paused attempts to force through gender reforms. 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.
“At the point I knew it was becoming, or felt it becoming, as polarised I should have said, ‘Right, OK, let’s pause, let’s take a step back’. 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?'”
She was the one who forced the parliament to sit late into the night before Christmas recess in 2022 to debate hundreds of amendments before passing the legislation. She even turned her back when MSPs rose concerns and shouted “shame on them” when Scottish Tory MSP Murdo Fraser brought up women’s unhappiness with the law.
For Women Scotland wrote: “She said “shame on them” when @murdo_fraser raised the concerns of women. Now she pretends that she might have listened. She had ample opportunity, but she chose to attack us.” Mr Fraser added: “Was this the ’emotional intelligence’ that made her shout ‘shame on you’ across the aisle at Holyrood to me when I spoke about having met feminist women fighting for their rights?”
And Olympic-winning swimmer Sharron Davies even highlighted the hypocrisy of Ms Sturgeon: “I can tell you first hand we travelled to Holyrood to give scientific peer reviewed evidence & 50yrs of elite women’s sport experience in defence of Scottish female athletes wanting their fair sport from males self ID’ing away their opportunities. Sturgeon would not even hear us. I’d trust her as far as I could throw her!”
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