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Nicola Sturgeon faces another trans storm after a decision was made to house one of Scotland’s most violent prisoners in a women’s jail. The Record can reveal that volatile Tiffany Scott – who stalked a 13-year-old girl while known as Andrew Burns – has been rubber-stamped for transfer to a jail that aligns with her chosen gender.
Scott, 31, has been repeatedly refused the switch over several years but senior management relented in recent weeks. It is understood that the transfer is still planned – despite the First Minister instructing a U-turn on a decision to house double rapist Isla Bryson at all-women jail Cornton Vale, Stirling, on Thursday.
Last night the Scottish Government faced calls to make another embarrassing U-turn on Scott. A source said: “Of all the female trans prisoners in the estate, Scott has been considered the most dangerous.”
They added: “Isla Bryson’s rape convictions took public perception of the risks to a new level. Cornton Vale staff were bracing themselves for Scott and then the Bryson case showed how ill equipped the SPS is to deal with the most extreme trans prisoners.
“As it stands, Scott will be admitted to a women’s jail – probably the New HMP Stirling later this year – and held in segregation. This will very possibly lead to full integration with the main prison community.
“This highly disturbed prisoner has attacked female staff during time in prison, has admitted stalking a young girl and has been one of the most menacing people inside Scottish jails. It’s madness to send her to a women’s jail – there needs to be a better solution than this.”
The decision to move Scott coincided with the passage through the Scottish Parliament of the Gender Recognition Reform Bill, which the SNP Government hopes will enable individuals to transition to another gender more easily.
The Bill was voted through but is being blocked from royal assent by the UK Government, via a Section 35 order, which Sturgeon says is undemocratic. Scott, 32, from Kinglassie, Fife, is being held in segregation at LowMoss Prison, near Glasgow.
She has assaulted inmates, security officers and female nurses in various jails. She self-harmed and opened veins with her teeth before squirting blood at prison officers.
In 2010, Scott, while still Burns, attacked a nurse while escaping from a Cheshire hospital while under detention, throwing roof tiles at police during a siege on the hospital roof. In 2013, Scott, while still Burns, was sentenced to 14 months for stalking a 13-year-old girl from a cell at Polmont Prison, near Falkirk, by sending letters.
Scottish Tory justice spokesman Russell Findlay said last night: “In the wake of this week’s scandalous decision to put a double rapist in a women’s prison, all transfers of trans inmates to the female estate must be put on hold.
“We need to see the SPS’s new policy about these issues without delay. The safety of females in custody and prison staff must be the primary consideration, not the rights of dangerous criminals.”
Former Cornton Vale governor Rhona Hotchkiss is appalled that Scott is finally getting a transfer to a women’s jail. She said: “This decision should be reviewed.”
An SPS spokesperson said: “Where there are any concerns about any risks posed by an individual, to themselves or others, we retain the ability to keep them separate from the mainstream population until an agreed … plan is in place.”
The Scottish Government said: “SPS is reviewing their policy on managing transgender prisoners in partnership with the Scottish Government and that process is nearing completion.”
