NICOLA STURGEON: Trans prisoner pause was to give clarity & trans prisoner arrangements not changed

The decision to pause the placing of transgender prisoners with a history of violence against women in the female prison estate was taken to provide “clarity”, Nicola Sturgeon has said. The Scottish Government has been under fire for the past week after double rapist Isla Bryson was placed in a segregation unit in Cornton Vale after conviction and reports emerged that Tiffany Scott – who was convicted of stalking a 13-year-old girl – may be moved to the female estate. On Sunday, Justice Secretary Keith Brown announced the pause, along with an urgent review to look at the handling of the Bryson case and run parallel to another review of the wider transgender prisoner policy. Current Scottish Prison Service (SPS) policy requires a risk assessment to be undertaken before a transgender prisoner can be placed in the estate with which they identify, but the change will stop any with a history of violence against women – including sexual violence – from being placed in Cornton Vale or any women’s unit across the country until the policy has been reviewed. Speaking to journalists on Monday, the First Minister said: “The arrangements for dealing with transgender prisoners hasn’t changed, they’ve been in place for some time. “There has never been an automatic right for a trans woman to serve their sentence in a female prison. Become a Scottish Sun Subscriber and hit the bell to be the first to know Read The Sun: http://www.theScottishsun.co.uk Like The Sun on Facebook:   / thescottishsun   Follow The Sun on Twitter:   / scottishsun   #nicolaSturgeon #snp #scotland