Nicola Sturgeon brands double rapist Isla Bryson 'a biological male'

The former first minister has conceded she “should have been much more straightforward” on Bryson’s gender after being repeatedly questioned on the issue in office.

The passing of the gender recognition reforms, which would have made it easier for trans people to legally change their gender, marked one of the most controversial periods in Ms Sturgeon’s political career.

The bill passed with cross-party support in December 2022, but was later blocked by the former Conservative government in Westminster.

Shortly after this, Bryson, formerly known as Adam Graham, was sent to a women-only jail after being convicted of raping two women. Following a furious backlash, Bryson was transferred to a male prison.

An interview with Ms Sturgeon is due to be aired on STV on Monday evening, where she said anyone who commits the “most heinous male crime against women probably forfeits the right to be the gender of their choice”.

However she then tells ITV News at Ten presenter Julie Etchingham “that probably was not the best phrase to use”.

When asked why she did not simply say Bryson is a biological male, Ms Sturgeon said “they are a biological male”, and said the issue “gets back into the self-ID thing”.

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The former first minister added: “I should have been much more straightforward. I wasn’t, but that’s because of the debate.

“We’d lost all sense of rationality in this debate. I’m partly responsible for that.”

In response to this, Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said: “Frankly, Nicola Sturgeon must be delusional if she thinks the women of Scotland will swallow this drivel.”

He said the former first minister “ignored all warnings that gender self-ID would be a gift to male predators like Isla Bryson” and added she “ordered her SNP MSPs to vote down my attempts to block rapists and other sex criminals from being able to legally change their gender by self-declaration”.

Mr Findlay said: “Her absurd ideological belief in self-ID collapses with her belated mealy-mouthed admission that this rapist is a man, but she still can’t bring herself to say sorry for all the pain and misery she has caused.”

It comes after Ms Sturgeon, who is stepping down from frontline politics at the 2026 Scottish Parliament election, admitted she regrets not “pausing” the gender reform debate.

The Glasgow Southside MSP said she failed to acknowledge the backlash to the gender reform debate and should have taken a step back from pursuing the issue.

Ms Sturgeon’s interview with Julie Etchingham will be broadcast on STV at 7pm on Monday evening. An extended version of the interview will then be added to ITVX.

This comes ahead of the publication of her memoir ‘Frankly’, which will be officially released at the Edinburgh Book Festival on Thursday.