The British Minister for Scotland, Alister Jack, has issued an order on Monday preventing the Scottish Gender Self-Determination Bill, passed last December, from finally being ratified.
The British minister for Scotland has released a statement in which he confirmed having made the decision «after thorough and careful consideration of all the relevant advice and policy implications.»
«I am concerned that this legislation will have an adverse impact on the operation of equality legislation in the UK,» said Jack, who stressed that transgender people «deserve the respect, support and understanding» of the authorities.
On this point, Jack stressed that he has not taken this decision «lightly», but that in view of the adverse consequences that the Scottish bill could have on the rest of the British territories it was «necessary and right» to veto it.
Finally, Jack pointed out that he has made the decision known to the Scottish authorities and has urged Edinburgh to present an amended bill and to work jointly and «constructively» with London so that it «respects» the functioning of the British Parliament.
For her part, Scotland’s chief minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has denounced London’s decision as a «frontal attack» on the Scottish Parliament and its ability to make its own decisions.
«The Scottish Government will defend the legislation and defend the Parliament. If this Westminster veto succeeds, it will be the first of many,» Sturgeon warned on her official profile on the social network Twitter.
Sturgeon had already warned the UK central government on Monday of the risk of using as a «political weapon» the law that facilitates gender self-determination, warning that any possible veto from London would be an «atrocity».
The Scottish Parliament gave the green light to the law in December, by a wide margin but not without controversy, both within and outside the strictly political sphere.
The reform reduces to 16 the age at which a change of gender can be requested from the administration, eliminates the requirement to present a medical report and reduces to three months the time in which the applicant must have lived according to the gender he or she is claiming — six months in the case of a minor.
London has thus made effective its ability to veto the bill, in an unprecedented move, and regarding which Downing Street has indicated in the morning that «no decision» had been taken so far, thus leaving the ball in the court of a Jack who has finally made use of his ability to block.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
