Police considered recording trans double rapist Isla Bryson as female

Police in Scotland considered whether transgender double rapist Isla Bryson could be recorded as female on the sex offenders' register, a report citing leaked documents claimed today.

The sex attacker, 32, was jailed for eight years in February 2023 after raping two women in West Dunbartonshire and Glasgow.

The rapist was charged with the sex attacks as Adam Graham, but turned up for the trial identifying as a woman and taking the name Isla Bryson.

The case sparked public uproar and dominated the final weeks of first minister Nicola Sturgeon's government after Bryson was sent to the all-female Cornton Vale prison outside Stirling, before being transferred to a male prison in the aftermath.

Earlier this month Police Scotland was forced to confirm it would not record a rapist as female because Scottish law defines rape as penetration by a penis without consent. Chief Constable Jo Farrell also told Sky News: 'You can only commit that crime as a man' - and said there was no confusion about his force's policy.

But Sky claims it has seen a leaked internal Police Scotland document named 'Sex and Gender' that included a section on Bryson and where the rapist could be recorded as female, including on the national crime database and sex offenders' register.

It reportedly says: 'When this individual comes back into contact with Police Scotland it would likely be a public protection matter in the management of sex offenders.

'In this instance they may be recorded as a female with the name Isla Bryson however the trans history would be appropriate to be retained on relevant policing systems.'

According to Sky, a police source told them that this would mean Bryson would likely be treated and referred to as a woman by the force.

A Police Scotland spokesman said: 'This report from 2023 set out proposals on potential future recording practices and standards in relation to sex and gender from a data analysis perspective.

'The Chief Constable addressed the matter of gender self-identification at the Scottish Police Authority Board in September 2024, during which Police Scotland committed to a broader review.'

The story has sparked an angry response from women's rights groups in Scotland.

For Women Scotland said: 'This is appalling. Police Scotland need to get their act together. Sex offenders should NEVER be allowed to lie about their sex and the police should never facilitate it'.

Last week Police Scotland told MSPs they should be 'absolutely assured' that a man who commits rape or serious sexual assault will always be recorded as male.

It had previously sparked outrage when it told a Holyrood committee that the sex or gender identification of anyone who comes 'into ­contact' with the force would be based 'on how they present or how they self-declare'.

Deputy Chief Constable Alan Speirs also told the criminal justice committee that DNA samples are taken from those charged with or convicted of serious sexual assaults which determine their biological sex.

He said: 'A point was raised ­during First Minister's Questions on September 12 which suggests a male rapist can demand to be called a woman and further ­traumatise his victim – this would not happen.

'The committee should be ­absolutely assured that a man who commits rape or serious ­sexual assaults will be recorded as a male.

'There is no instance or record on police systems of a male having been arrested and charged with rape whose gender has been recorded as female. This has not happened.'

Campaigners had welcomed the ­clarification on Police Scotland's approach to gender self-ID.

Lucy Hunter Blackburn of the Murray Blackburn Mackenzie think tank said: 'This is a major U-turn by Police Scotland. We welcome that Police Scotland has at last recognised that allowing sex offenders to self-identify their sex is indefensible'.

At First Minister's Questions this month, John Swinney claimed he was powerless to prevent police from allowing rapists to identify as women.

Tory MSP Rachael Hamilton said: 'Despite the ­Deputy Chief Constable's ­protestations, this announcement does appear to represent a ­significant change in policy from Police Scotland.

'We need to know that this belated victory for common sense will now be embedded in Police Scotland, the wider justice system and indeed all public bodies.

'The safety and protection of women and the safeguarding of single-sex spaces must always come first.'