Trans inmates leaving women's prisons following court ruling

Transgender prisoners are being moved to jails according to their biological sex, after the Scottish government confirmed it would not appeal a legal ruling.

On Friday, Lady Ross ruled that Scottish Prison Service (SPS) guidance allowing transgender prisoners to be held in jails for the opposite sex was unlawful based on a Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman in equality law.

First Minister John Swinney confirmed the Scottish government would not appeal a court judgement that prisoners must be housed according to their biological sex.

For Women Scotland (FWS), the campaign group that brought the case to court, said they were pleased the government had "accepted the inevitable".

Justice Secretary Neil Gray said the government accepted the ruling and work was now underway to implement the transfer of prisoners.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) withdrew its transgender policy, first implemented in 2014, on Monday.

For Women Scotland was also responsible for challenging the Scottish government at the Supreme Court in April 2025.

The court was asked to decide on the proper interpretation of the 2010 Equality Act, which applies across Scotland, England and Wales.

It ruled that the terms "woman and sex in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex".

The group then took the Scottish government through a judicial review, saying only prisoners born biologically female should be held in the women's estate.

Lawyers for the government had argued this would breach transgender prisoners' human rights.

Lady Ross said the official guidance was "in conflict with the requirement that prison accommodation be provided separately for men and women" and constituted "a mis-statement of the law".

She said: "In all the circumstances, the prisons guidance is unlawful."

Swinney said legal arguments over where trans prisoners should be housed had involved a "complicated interaction" of the Equality Act and the European Convention on Human Rights.

Speaking on Tuesday, he said: "Those issues are intensely complex, which is why this issue has been resolved by the Court of Session."

But he said said ministers had concluded "that we should not appeal this judgement" when the issue was considered by cabinet on Tuesday.

However, he refused to apologise for contesting the case, saying: "Sometimes these issues have to be challenged in court to establish the certainty that is required."

Announcing the move, Gray said ministers had given "careful consideration" to the issue following the ruling, including a risk of suicide.

"The Scottish government frequently has to make difficult decisions which balance the different interests and rights of individuals, often in complex situations, and this was one such situation," he said.

"The focus now moves to implementing the law, as clarified by the court, maintaining a clear focus on the safety, well-being and rights of all those living and working within Scotland's prisons," he added.

An earlier review following the conviction of transgender rapist Isla Bryson - previously known as Adam Graham - led to transgender prisoners being initially placed in jails according to their birth sex.

Male-born transgender inmates have been allowed to be incarcerated with women on a case-by-case basis.

Susan Smith, a director at For Women Scotland, said they remained "horrified" that SPS ever thought its policy of putting males in women's prisons was "morally justified, let alone lawful".

"Sadly, the statement issued by the minister focused on the men who are to be moved, with no reference to the women who have suffered under this iniquitous policy and who deserve a fulsome apology and an acknowledgement of the harm and trauma they suffered," she said.

She added: "We are pleased that the government has accepted the inevitable and will be moving these men out of female prisons.

"The government must now reflect on the corrosive effect publicly funded lobbyists have had on single-sex provision who operate with no understanding of law and who have now cost the tax-payer millions."

Meghan Gallacher, the Scottish Conservatives' equalities spokeswoman, said the SNP had been "dragged kicking and screaming to finally do the right thing and apply the law".

"Male-bodied prisoners should have been removed from the female estate immediately following the clear ruling from the Supreme Court in April 2025," she said.

"Instead, out-of-touch SNP ministers wasted more taxpayers' money fighting a court case that was doomed from the start, and their reckless decision continued to put vulnerable women prisoners at risk."

She added that the "humiliating climbdown"should "signal the end for Nicola Sturgeon's extreme gender self-ID policy" that "polluted Scottish public life for far too long".

She called on John Swinney to confirm that every government body would guarantee women access to single-sex spaces.