Nicola Sturgeon admits regret over failing to 'pause' gender reforms debate

The former first minister has adamantly stood by her belief that trans rights should be protected, but has now revealed that the proposed reforms, which were agreed by the Scottish Parliament but blocked by the UK government, should have been put on hold.

The legislation, which was overwhelmingly backed by MSPs, would have allowed trans people to self-ID in their lived gender and obtain a gender recognition certificate.

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But the UK government blocked the legislation from becoming law, arguing that it impinged on UK-wide equalities laws.

Sturgeon regrets continuing with gender reforms

In an interview to mark the release of her memoirs, Frankly, Ms Sturgeon has now opened up to ITV about the gender recognition debate, suggesting regret that she didn’t put the debate on hold - having failed to acknowledge the scale of some of the criticism she received for her beliefs.

Vocal campaigners have repeatedly criticised Ms Sturgeon for pursuing the gender recognition reforms, even on occasion targeting her in public, including shouting at her in the street, over their opposition to the plans.

Speaking to ITV, Ms Sturgeon said: “I didn't anticipate as much as I should, or engage as much as I should, on some of the concerns that might then be triggered.

“At the point I knew it was becoming, or felt it becoming, as polarised I should have said, ‘Right, okay, let's pause, let's take a step back’.

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“I fervently believe that the rights of women and the interests of trans people are not irreconcilable at all. I should have taken a step back and said, ‘How do we achieve this?’.”

ITV News at Ten presenter Julie Etchingham asks Ms Sturgeon: "So you're basically admitting that you should have just paused that legislation?"

In response, Ms Sturgeon said: "Paused, yes".

Ms Sturgeon also told the Sunday Times that in hindsight “it might have been wiser to take a step back than to dig my heels in.”

‘Extraordinary turnaround’ from Sturgeon

Former SNP MP Joanna Cherry, who lost her seat with a majority of almost 12,000 last year, branded Ms Sturgeon’s admission an "extraordinary turnaround”.

She added: “Can those of us she demonised for requesting just that now expect an apology?”

The former first minister has repeatedly refused to apologise despite calls from campaigners.

The admission comes as Ms Sturgeon was branded “ludicrous” by her critics after she suggested Alex Salmond could have leaked a sexual misconduct investigation against him.

The former first minister has hit out at the "truly disgraceful” attempt of Mr Salmond to “distort and weaponise” his alleged victims’ trauma as she accused him of being ”determined to destroy me”.

In an excerpt of her new memoir, published in the Sunday Times, Ms Sturgeon insists that a conspiracy against Mr Salmond, which he and his allies have claimed without proof had taken place, was “a fabrication”.

Mr Salmond was cleared of any criminality at the High Court in Edinburgh in 2020 and died last year.

Conspiracy a ‘fabrication’

In her book, Ms Sturgeon acknowledged Mr Salmond was “acquitted of criminal behaviour”, but stressed that during the trial, “a picture emerged of behaviour towards women that, on occasion, had been inappropriate”.

Referring to a conspiracy, Ms Sturgeon stressed it “would have needed a number of women deciding to concoct false allegations, without any obvious motive for doing so”.

She added: “It would then have required criminal collusion between them, senior ministers and civil servants, the police and the Crown. That is what he was alleging.

“The ‘conspiracy’ was a fabrication, the invention of a man who wasn’t prepared to reflect honestly on his own conduct. This is what I found hardest to come to terms with.”

Details of a Scottish Government investigation into Mr Salmond were leaked to the Daily Record newspaper. Last year, Police Scotland confirmed no action would be taken about the leak.

But Ms Sturgeon has suggested the leak could have come from Mr Salmond himself, stressing the action could have been “classic Alex”.

She said: “It crossed my mind many times that it might have been Alex himself or someone acting on his behalf.

Leak could have been ‘classic Alex’

“To those with no experience of the dark arts of media manipulation, I know this will sound preposterous. However, in many ways it would have been classic Alex.

“I had known him to make these kinds of calculations in the past. If there is damaging information certain to emerge about you and there is nothing you can do to stop it, get it out in a way that gives you the best chance of controlling the narrative.”

Alba leader Kenny MacAskill, an ally of Mr Salmond, accused Ms Sturgeon of “hypocrisy” over her claims.

Writing on X, Mr MacAskill said: “It’s one thing to be supposedly candid in your autobiography. Quite another to block openness and transparency when in office and by those you continue to support.

“This hypocrisy yet another reason for an inquiry into the Scottish Government’s actions relating to Alex Salmond.”

Mr MacAskill, who last month insisted he would “never forgive” Ms Sturgeon, has accused her of attempting to “rewrite history” and “distorting the truth” over her claims.

Ms Cherry said: “On her own admission Sturgeon knew about the allegations in March 2018. And the idea that Alex leaked the existence of them to the Daily Record is ludicrous.

“He was about to sue the Scottish Government in part to stop them publishing.”

David Clegg, the journalist who broke the story for the Daily Record, told the BBC that claims Mr Salmond leaked the story himself are “not credible” and he would “be very surprised if it was the case”.

Speaking on the Sunday Show, Mr Clegg said that “a document turned up in the post at the Record office”, adding that “if it was Alex Salmond” who had sent it, he did an “incredible acting job of seeming surprised and shocked” when they spoke about the story.

Mr Clegg said he “had some suspicions” about who sent it but added: “The truth is, I’m not even sure who it was.”