Alison Johnston – the Speaker of the Commons’ counterpart at Holyrood – issued a statement later in the day describing the action of security staff on Tuesday morning as a “mistake” and apologizing on behalf of the Scottish Parliament. The member of the public, who was watching a debate on amendments to the Scottish Government’s controversial gender recognition bill, posted on social media that “the Scottish Parliament is now policing clothing colours”. She later confirmed to the Guardian that she had been asked to remove the item but refused and was then told by security staff that the scarf was “political” because it was “related to the women’s movement”. A photograph of the offending item posted online shows a scarf in the colors of the early 20th century Women’s Social and Political Union. These have been adopted by gender-critical feminists who oppose efforts to simplify how transgender people change their legal gender through a process known as self-declaration and raise concerns about how this will affect women’s protections. Respondents on social media were confused by this interpretation of Parliament’s code of conduct for visitors, which states: ‘No banners, flags or political slogans, including clothing and accessories (such as face coverings) are allowed. Johnston’s full statement said: “Let me make one thing clear, that voting colors are not and have never been banned in the Scottish Parliament. We actively support and promote universal suffrage in a number of ways at Holyrood and will continue to do so. “I would like to inform the chamber that the action taken this morning was not instigated by any of its members [equalities] commission.” He added: “Wearing a scarf in these colors does not in itself breach the visitor code of conduct. Parliament wants people to participate in the democratic process, including observing the debate of elected representatives and making the law of the land.” At a previous committee hearing in June, a woman wearing a T-shirt with the slogan “Nicola Sturgeon, destroyer of women’s rights” was asked to leave the room. The same slogan was later worn by JK Rowling, an active opponent of plans to introduce self-declaration for transgender people who wish to change the gender on their birth certificate. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. As the standoff unfolded, the committee rejected a Scottish Conservative amendment to keep the age limit for a gender identity certificate at 18 instead of lowering it to 16, one of the proposals in the bill that has most worried opponents. On Monday, the Equality and Human Rights Commission – which has previously been criticized by LGBTQ+ equality campaigners for its interventions in the Scottish Government’s plans – issued a briefing paper which suggested the plans either exclude under-18s or significantly strengthen protection for younger teenagers. Instead, the committee backed SNP MSP Christine Grahame’s proposal that 16- and 17-year-olds should have lived in their acquired gender for at least six months instead of the planned three-month reflection period.
