Swinney in supreme confusion over gender reform Bill

JOHN Swinney was accused of ‘adding to the confusion’ over the SNP’s controversial gender self-ID reforms after wrongly claiming the Supreme Court had blocked them.

Judges ruled last year that Scotland’s bid to allow people to fast-track switching sex breached UK law.

But it was the Court of Session that backed Scottish Secretary Alister Jack’s use of a Section 35 order to halt the Gender Recognition Reform Bill last year.

SNP ministers then chose not to go to the Supreme Court in London.

But on Thursday night, Mr Swinney told BBC Scotland’s The Nine: ‘The issues we’ve run into are the fact that the Supreme Court has indicated that we can’t legislate on that point.

‘So we have to respect that. I accept the rule of law.’

And yesterday morning, he doubled down, telling Sky News: ‘The reality of the situation we face is that the Supreme Court

‘Got his courts mixed up’

has said we can’t legislate in that area. We quite simply can’t proceed with it.’

Critics have now called on the new First Minister to clear up the uncertainty and kill off the Bill for good.

Scottish Conservative deputy leader Meghan Gallacher said: ‘John Swinney should say sorry for helping railroad it through Holyrood and ditch the SNP’s gender self-ID policy, which endangers women and girls.’

She added: ‘The fact that John Swinney got his courts mixed up only adds to the confusion around this.’

Humza Yousaf, in choosing not to take the fight to the Supreme Court, insisted that he would instead work with a future Labour government to get the Bill back on the statute book in amended form.

But yesterday both Mr Swinney and Scottish Government officials refused to say if they would seek dialogue with a Labour administration.