Humza Yousaf accused of ‘harmful insanity’ in row over transgender butcher
Humza Yousaf has been accused of “dangerous madness” after refusing to say if a transgender butcher can be despatched to a male or feminine jail.
Andrew Miller, 53, who’s also referred to as Amy George, at present admitted abducting a main faculty aged lady whereas dressed as a girl earlier than sexually assaulting her repeatedly over greater than 24 hours.
Miller pleaded responsible to 4 fees – abduction, sexual assault, watching pornography within the presence of the kid underneath the age of 13, and possessing 242 indecent photographs of youngsters.
At the High Court in Edinburgh on Thursday, a story of Miller’s offences had been learn out, which choose Lord Arthurson described as “abhorrent crimes” of the utmost “deviance and depravity” which had been “the realisation of every parent’s worst nightmare”.
Miller is within the technique of transitioning and was the proprietor of an area butcher’s store, which had not been open for some months.
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Mr Yousaf earlier confirmed Miller is being held in a male jail however refused to say if he can be moved to a girls’s jail following sentencing.
The Scottish First Minister advised Sky News: “This is a gut-wrenching case, heartbreaking. I cannot think of the trauma the victim, the family and the community are going through.
“I can verify Andrew Miller is being held in a male jail.”
Mr Yousaf refused to answer questions about whether this will be the case when Miller is sentenced later this year.
He said: “This is a stay case, the sentencing remains to be to occur. I can’t touch upon a stay case.”
Responding to the case today, Rachael Hamilton, the Scottish Conservative shadow equalities spokeswoman, said: “This case shocked the area people and my ideas are with the younger lady who suffered such appalling crimes by the hands of this harmful offender.
“It is a vile example of how predatory men are able to and will abuse the system to prey on vulnerable women and girls.
“Shona Robison – the architect of the SNP’s Gender Reform Bill – claimed that there was no proof abusive males must fake to be anything when finishing up this kind of behaviour, however this horrific case dispels her argument.
“The SNP’s self-ID legislation would allow this predator to access women’s spaces had the UK Government not intervened.
“Ministers should give an absolute assure that if a custodial sentence is handed down, that he won’t ever be housed in a girls’s jail.”
Senior Conservative MP Simon Clarke also condemned Mr Yousaf over his refusal to say if Miller will be sent to a male or female prison.
He said: “This is absolute, harmful insanity from the Scottish Government.”
The case is likely to reignite the bitter debate over transgender rights in Scotland.
Mr Yousaf’s predecessor Nicola Sturgeon’s reforms to make it easier for people in Scotland to change their legally recognised gender were torpedoed by Westminster due to concerns they would interfere with UK-wide equality laws.
It also comes months after controversy over the imprisonment of double rapist Isla Bryson, previously known as Adam Graham.
Bryson, who committed two rapes while she was a man, was initially housed in segregation at Cornton Vale near Stirling – Scotland’s only all-female prison – before being moved to the male estate following an outcry.
The row led to Scottish Justice Secretary Keith Brown pausing the movement of transgender prisoners into women’s jails if they have a history of violence.