Mhairi Black claims Douglas Ross 'should be ashamed of himself' for opposing gender reforms
dailyrecord.co.ukMhairi Black has told Douglas Ross he "should be ashamed" after he backed the UK Government's decision to block gender recognition reforms passed by the Scottish Parliament.The SNP MP shouted across the Commons chamber today at the Scottish Conservative leader during heated exchanges.
Scotland Secretary Alister Jack used a statement in parliament to confirm he would issue a Section 35 order to block the Holyrood bill.
It is the first time that such an order has been used to strike down an act of the Scottish Parliament since it was founded in 1999.
Speaking after Jack's statement, Ross told MPs: "Nicola Sturgeon has now tried to turn this into a political battle between the Scottish and UK Government when all, as I understand it, the Scottish Secretary and the Government are trying to do, is protect women's rights."The statement provoked uproar among the SNP MPs and Black shouted across the chamber: "You should be ashamed of yourself Douglas."Jack said that the Gender Recognition Reform Bill was being blocked as it "would have a serious adverse impact, among other things, on the operation of the Equality Act 2010."Those adverse effects include impacts on the operation of single-sex clubs, associations and schools, and protections such as equal pay."The Government shares the concerns of many members of the public and civic society groups regarding the potential impact of the Bill on women and girls."The Bill also risks creating significant complications from having two different gender recognition regimes in the UK and allowing more fraudulent or bad faith applications."He also said that "It is open to the Scottish Government to bring back an amended Bill for reconsideration in the Scottish Parliament."Some Labour MPs
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