The First Minister said only that the issue had been ‘settled’ by the Supreme Court and he accepts its judgment.
Scotland’s First Minister has repeatedly refused to say whether he believes trans women are women, when quizzed during a press conference in Glasgow.
Speaking following a cross-party summit aimed at tackling the far-right, John Swinney said the definition of a woman had been “settled” by the UK Supreme Court.
Last week, campaign group For Women Scotland won its case against the Scottish Government over the definition.
The Scottish Government accepts today’s Supreme Court judgement. The ruling gives clarity between two relevant pieces of legislation passed at Westminster. We will now engage on the implications of the ruling. Protecting the rights of all will underpin our actions.
— John Swinney (@JohnSwinney) April 16, 2025
The country’s top judges ruled the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 “refer to a biological woman and biological sex”.
During Wednesday’s press conference, the cross-party panel was asked whether they believe a trans woman is a woman, in light of the ruling.
The First Minister suggested he did not have time to answer the question, saying: “I don’t think we’ve got space for us all to answer. There will be plenty of opportunities for that.”
Pressed later on the issue, he added: “That issue has been settled by the Supreme Court.
“The Supreme Court has given us the basis of law for that to be the case and that’s what I accept.”
He said changes to regulations in Scotland will now take place in light of the judgment, although he did not say when.
The First Minister also condemned comments from Scottish Green MSP Maggie Chapman in which she accused the Supreme Court of “bigotry, prejudice and hatred” over its ruling.
Sitting next to the party’s two co-leaders, he said: “I think it is wrong to do that because at no stage should we question the independence of the judiciary and the judicial system because it operates in everybody’s interests in an entirely neutral fashion in accordance with the rule of law.”
Alba MSP Ash Regan, who was also on the panel, said the landmark court judgment showed “trans women are not really women”.
The former SNP minister – who quit over her objections to the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill – said she was “disappointed” by the Scottish Government’s response to the Supreme Court judgment.
She called on ministers to apologise for the “nonsense that has been perpetrated on to the country”.
Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie, who appeared on the panel alongside his fellow co-leader Lorna Slater, said he does believe a trans woman is a woman.
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar did not answer the question.
