Nicola Sturgeon slammed as 'coward' as transgender rapist's mum demands apology

The mother of a transgender rapist who helped to bring about 's downfall as leader of the SNP has called on her to apologise to the women of Scotland for her gender reform policies. A row over whether Isla Bryson, who was formerly known as Adam Graham before identifying as a transgender woman, should have been sent to a women's prison after being convicted of rape was part of an outcry over gender identity that dogged Ms Sturgeon's time as Scottish First Minister. The MSP for Glasgow Southside refused to publicly call Bryson a man, referring to him only as a "rapist".

While he was eventually moved to a male facility, Ms Sturgeon also attracted criticism for attempting to introduce legislation allowing self-identification for people during her tenure, making it easier for them to be legally recognised in their preferred gender. Following a that the terms "woman" and "sex" refer to "a biological woman and biological sex", the rapist's mother Janet Bryson has spoken out against the former SNP leader, calling on her to apologise for "years of confusion".

"I'm pleased with the ruling which ends years of confusion over these new gender laws and now the rights of biological women are clear and protected," Ms Bryson told the Sunday Mail.

"That has now been made clear, but it should never have been questioned in the first place. But I think it is now time Ms Sturgeon apologised. So much time, money and energy has been spent trying to protect the rights of some, but at the expense of biological women."

The 65-year-old mother-of-three said her son, who was jailed for eight years after being convicted of raping two women in January 2023, said he had "never expressed any wish ... to be a girl" while growing up, refuting his claims that he began questioning his gender identity at four-years-old.

"You can say you are a woman all you want, but I believe that is different to being biologically born a woman," she added. "With the case of my son, he was born a man. A piece of paper does not change that."

Former SNP MP Joanna Cherry also demanded that Ms Stugeon apologise to "the women of Scotland" on the steps of the Supreme Court in London last week, and the ex-First Minister has attracted a slew of criticism on social media since the ruling on April 16.

Susan Dalgety, the co-editor of the gender-critical essay collection The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht, called Ms Sturgeon a "coward" in a blistering attack on X.

"Still silence from Sturgeon," she wrote. "The woman whose wrong-headed decision to pursue self-ID led directly to this week's Supreme Court ruling has held her wheesht since Wednesday.

"She may be busy re-writing her memoir, or she may be too much of a coward to show her face. Whatever her excuse, she owes the women of Scotland an apology."

The Daily Express has contacted Nicola Sturgeon's office for comment.