Kate Forbes warns Scottish Government not to prolong gender legal battle
dailyrecord.co.ukThe Scottish Government must not prolong the legal battle following a defeat over Holyrood’s gender reform laws, former SNP leadership candidate Kate Forbes has warned.First Minister Humza Yousaf claimed devolution was “fundamentally flawed” following the Court of Session’s ruling that the UK Government had acted lawfully in using a Section 35 order of the Scotland Act to block the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill from gaining royal assent.The legislation simplifies the process for transgender people to obtain a gender recognition certificate (GRC) and officially change their legally recognised sex.The legal challenge cost the Scottish Government around £230,000 and ministers now have three weeks to decide whether they want to appeal against the decision at the Supreme Court.In her ruling, Lady Haldane, who presided over two days of evidence in September, said the Scottish Government’s petition “fails”, dismissing arguments from Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain that Scottish Secretary Alister Jack launched the never-before-used power because of a policy disagreement.She also agreed that reserved equality laws would be altered by the Scottish legislation because it would mean the GRC would be altered by removing the gender dysphoria diagnosis.Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland.No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team.All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in!If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'.We also
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