Gender reform bill: Scottish and UK governments to enter legal battle

Published

2 years ago

April 12, 2023

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The Scottish and UK governments will enter into a legal battle over Holyrood’s much-debated gender reform bill.

Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville confirmed on Wednesday that the Scottish government will lodge a petition for a judicial review over Westminster’s veto of the bill.

Ms Somerville said: “The Gender Recognition Reform Bill was passed by an overwhelming majority of the Scottish Parliament, with support from members of all parties.

“The use of section 35 is an unprecedented challenge to the Scottish Parliament’s ability to legislate on clearly devolved matters and it risks setting a dangerous constitutional precedent.

“In seeking to uphold the democratic will of the parliament and defend devolution, Scottish ministers will lodge a petition for a judicial review of the Secretary of State for Scotland’s decision.”

In response, the UK government said it would “robustly defend” its decision.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said earlier in the day that the government had taken “very careful and considered advice” on the issue before acting.

The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill was passed by MSPs just before Christmas.

It then became a constitutional dispute in January when the UK government took the unprecedented step of using section 35 of the Scotland Act to block the bill from receiving royal assent and becoming law.

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack claimed the bill clashed with UK-wide equality laws, and differing systems of gender recognition north and south of the border would create “significant complications”.

Ms Somerville added: “The UK government gave no advance warning of their use of the power, and neither did they ask for any amendments to the bill throughout its nine-month passage through parliament.

“Our offers to work with the UK government on potential changes to the bill have been refused outright by the secretary of state, so legal challenge is our only reasonable means of resolving this situation.

“It is important to have clarity on the interpretation and scope of the section 35 power and its impact on devolution. These matters should be legally tested in the courts.”

The bill aims to simplify the process for trans people to change gender in the eyes of the law.

No diagnosis or medical reports would be required, and the period in which adult applicants need to have lived in their acquired gender would be cut to three months.

Sixteen and 17-year-olds applying for a gender recognition certificate would have to live in their acquired gender for at least six months.

However, critics argue it undermines women’s rights and single-sex spaces.

The bill has been a contentious issue within the SNP.

In October last year, Ash Regan quit as community safety minister shortly before MSPs began debating the first stage. A total of seven SNP MSPs broke the whip to vote against it.

During the SNP leadership contest, First Minister Humza Yousaf was the only contender to back action if legal advice supported the move.

Ash Regan believed any court challenge would fail, while Kate Forbes pledged to amend the legislation to ensure it could not be blocked again.

On Tuesday, Mr Yousaf said the block was an “undemocratic veto over legislation that was passed by a majority of the Scottish Parliament”.

The Secretary of State for Scotland, Mr Jack, said in response to the announcement: “The UK government will robustly defend the decision to prevent the Scottish government’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill from becoming law.

“I made the order under section 35 of the Scotland Act 1998 after thorough and careful consideration of all the relevant advice and the policy implications.

“I was very clear in the accompanying statement of reasons how the bill would have an adverse effect on reserved matters, including on the operation of the law as it applies to Great Britain-wide equalities protections.

“The use of the power is entirely within the devolution settlement as set out from its inception, with cross-party support.”

Analysis: Constitutional clash thunders on

This is the first big, albeit predictable, move by the new first minister.

Humza Yousaf promised to go to court during the bitter SNP leadership contest and this is confirmation of what is set to be yet another constitutional clash in the courts.

Wannabe leaders Kate Forbes and Ash Regan hammered home their message that a legal challenge would be pointless as experts were suggesting the Scottish government would lose.

The major question is whether the Holyrood administration’s lawyers have given advice to the new first minister that his government will win the case. If not, is he going ahead with the baggage of enormous legal costs knowing he will fail at the first hurdle?

Mr Yousaf is playing to the SNP gallery by ploughing on with this court challenge as his team suggest it’s a “democratic outrage” for Westminster to veto devolved legislation. They say failing to do so would set a dangerous precedent with Downing Street riding roughshod over laws it doesn’t like.

The issue of gender has also created rifts in the SNP as a party. Many will be angry one of Mr Yousaf’s first acts was to go down this route. A difficult move for a new leader walking the tightrope of uniting the party.

One thing is for sure – this court process will drag on and the controversial subject will continue to generate headlines for some time to come.

The Scottish Tories branded the move a “transparent attempt” by Mr Yousaf to divert attention from the “civil war engulfing the SNP and the huge question marks over the party’s finances“.

While the Scottish Greens said the bill was a “vital step for trans rights and equality”.

UK

Unlicensed Botox-like injections spark outbreak of disease many doctors have never treated

Published

4 hours ago

July 26, 2025

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Unlicensed Botox-like injections spark outbreak of disease many doctors have never treated

A woman who thought she was being injected with Botox was left unable to swallow and doctors thought she had suffered a stroke – after she contracted a life-threatening illness from a potentially illegal product.

Nicola Fairley is one of dozens of people who have developed botulism linked to unlicensed anti-wrinkle injections.

She had the procedure done with her regular beautician after winning a Facebook competition for three areas of “Botox”.

“Within two or three hours my forehead and the sides of my eyes had started to freeze,” Nicola says.

“At first I thought ‘amazing’, that’s what I wanted – then it just carried on.”

Nicola was eventually sent to A&E in Durham, where she met several other patients who all had similar symptoms.

Doctors were stumped. “They thought I’d had a stroke,” she says.

“We all had problems with our eyes, some of us with our breathing. I couldn’t swallow – they put me on nil by mouth because they were worried I would choke in the waiting room.”

It turns out all of the patients had recently had anti-wrinkle injections containing botulinum toxin.

Health officials believe they were imported, illegal products.

Botulism – the disease they caused – is so rare many doctors never see it in their entire careers.

It can cause symptoms including slurred speech and breathing problems, and can be deadly.

The disease is so unusual, and so many cases were coming in, that doctors exhausted their stocks of anti-toxin and had to ask hospitals as far away as London to get more.

The UK Health Security Agency has so far confirmed 38 cases of botulism linked to cosmetic toxin injections, but Sky News has been told of several more.

The outbreak began in the North East but cases have now been seen in the East of England and East Midlands as well.

There are only a handful of legal botulinum toxin products in the UK – of which Botox is one.

But cosmetic treatments are largely unregulated, with anyone allowed to inject products like fillers and toxins without any medical training.

Cheap, illegal products imported from overseas are easily available.

‘It’s the Wild West’

Dr Steven Land runs Novellus Aesthetics clinic in Newcastle upon Tyne. He worked for decades as an emergency medicine doctor before moving into aesthetics.

He says he has been warning health officials of an outbreak for years.

“It’s the Wild West,” Dr Land told Sky News.

“Because anyone can do this, there is a lack of knowledge around what is legal, what’s not legal, what is okay to be injected.

“These illegal toxins could have 50 units, 5,000 units or rat poison – there could be anything in there.”

Dr Land showed us messages that he says he gets on a weekly basis, from sellers trying to push him cheap, unlicensed products.

They advertise “limited time offers” and cheap bundles on toxins imported from overseas. He calls them “drug dealers”.

“They are preying on the lack of knowledge among non-medical practitioners,” he says.

Consultations on how to regulate the aesthetics industry have been ongoing for years – but so far, no changes have been introduced.

The UK government now says it does plan to regulate certain procedures, but it’s not said how it will do this, or when.

“What will it take?” Nicola says. “One of the women we were with did almost die – she had to be resuscitated.”

Nicola’s beautician has stopped responding to her messages, so she says she still has no idea what the product was “or how much of it is in me”.

She doesn’t know how long her symptoms will last, but just hopes she will eventually recover.

UK

Trump issues warning to leaders as he arrives in Scotland

Published

7 hours ago

July 26, 2025

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'Immigration is killing Europe': Donald Trump issues warning to leaders as he arrives in Scotland

Donald Trump has landed in Scotland for a four-day trip including high-level meetings – praising Sir Keir Starmer as “a good man” but calling illegal migration a “horrible invasion” that is “killing Europe”.

Crowds gathered at Prestwick Airport in Ayrshire amid a major security operation for the US president’s visit.

Mr Trump told reporters: “I like your prime minister. He’s slightly more liberal than I am… but he’s a good man… he got a trade deal done. It’s a good deal for the UK.”

The pair are expected to discuss potential changes to the UK-US trade deal which came into force last month.

Trump left Air Force One to head to Turnberry, one of his Scottish golf courses. Part of the trip will include the opening of another course in Aberdeenshire, billed as “the greatest 36 holes in golf”.

“There’s no place like Turnberry. It’s the best, probably the best course in the world. And I would say Aberdeen is right up there,” the US president said.

“Sean Connery helped get me the [planning] permits. If it weren’t for Sean Connery, we wouldn’t have those great courses,” he added.

During the trip, President Trump will also hold discussions with Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is keen to secure a trade deal with the US.

Mr Trump told reporters there was “a good 50-50 chance” of an agreement with the EU but added there were “maybe 20 different” sticking points.

EU diplomats say a deal could result in a broad 15% tariff on EU goods and half of the 30% Trump is threatening to impose by 1 August.

The US president touched on illegal immigration and gave European leaders a stark warning.

“You better get your act together or you’re not going to have Europe anymore. You got to get your act together,” he said.

“But you’re allowing it to happen to your countries and you got to stop this horrible invasion that’s happening to Europe. Immigration is killing Europe.”

He was also scathing about the installation of wind turbines across the continent.

“Stop the windmills. You’re ruining your countries,” he said. “It’s so sad. You fly over and you see these windmills all over the place, ruining your beautiful fields and valleys and killing your birds.”

Domestically, Mr Trump faces the biggest political crisis of his second term in office over his administration’s handling of files linked to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison in 2019.

He faced another round of questions after stepping off Air Force One.

“You’re making a big thing over something that’s not a big thing. I’m focused on making deals, not on conspiracy theories that you are,” he said.

Mr Trump added that “now’s not the time” to discuss a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s imprisoned accomplice.

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While the president’s visit did attract some enthusiastic flag-waving supporters at Prestwick Airport, he is also likely to trigger a number of protests, prompting Police Scotland to call in support from other forces in the UK.

The Stop Trump Scotland group has planned demonstrations on Saturday in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dumfries.

About 70% of Scots have an unfavourable opinion of Mr Trump, while 18% have a positive opinion, an Ipsos poll in March found.

Mr Trump is staying at his Turnberry property on Scotland’s west coast this weekend, before travelling to Aberdeenshire on Monday, where he will open a second 18-hole course.

He is due to return to the UK in September for a state visit hosted by the King – the first world leader in modern times to undertake two UK state visits.

UK

‘Immigration is killing Europe’: Donald Trump issues warning to leaders as he arrives in Scotland

Published

13 hours ago

July 26, 2025

admin

Donald Trump has landed in Scotland ahead of a four-day trip, which includes high-level meetings, praising Sir Keir Starmer as “a good man” but also calling illegal migration a “horrible invasion” that was “killing Europe”.

Crowds gathered at Prestwick Airport in Ayrshire amid a major security operation for the US president’s visit.

Mr Trump told reporters: “I like your prime minister. He’s slightly more liberal than I am… but he’s a good man… he got a trade deal done. It’s a good deal for the UK.”

Trump latest: Donald Trump arrives in Scotland

The pair are expected to discuss potential changes to the UK-US trade deal which came into force last month.

“There’s no place like Turnberry. It’s the best, probably the best course in the world. And I would say Aberdeen is right up there,” the US president said.

“Sean Connery helped get me the [planning] permits. If it weren’t for Sean Connery, we wouldn’t have those great courses,” he added.

Mr Trump told reporters there was “a good 50-50 chance” of an agreement with the EU but added there were “maybe 20 different” sticking points.

EU diplomats say a deal could result in a broad 15% tariff on EU goods and half of the 30% Trump is threatening to impose by 1 August.

The US president touched on illegal immigration and gave European leaders a stark warning.

“You better get your act together or you’re not going to have Europe anymore. You got to get your act together,” he said.

“But you’re allowing it to happen to your countries and you got to stop this horrible invasion that’s happening to Europe. Immigration is killing Europe,” he told reporters.

He was also scathing about the installation of wind turbines across Europe.

Domestically, President Trump faces the biggest political crisis of his second term in office over his administration’s handling of files linked to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison in 2019.

He faced another round of questions after stepping off Air Force One. “You’re making a big thing over something that’s not a big thing. I’m focused on making deals, not on conspiracy theories that you are,” he said.

Mr Trump added that “now’s not the time” to discuss a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s imprisoned accomplice.

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The Stop Trump Scotland group has planned demonstrations on Saturday in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dumfries.

About 70% of Scots have an unfavourable opinion of Trump, while 18% have a positive opinion, an Ipsos poll in March found.

President Trump is staying at his Turnberry property on Scotland’s west coast this weekend, before travelling to Aberdeenshire on Monday, where he will open a second 18-hole course.

He is due to return to the UK in September for a state visit hosted by the King – the first world leader in modern times to undertake two UK state visits.