Judge Lady Ross ruled the prison guidance, which allows some transgender prisoners to be housed in the jail matching their gender identity, was unlawful.

For Women Scotland, a campaign group, brought a petition for judicial review, challenging the Scottish Government and the Scottish Prison Service’s (SPS) guidance, arguing the policy must be based on biological sex after the Supreme Court in London ruled the terms "women" and "sex" referred explicitly to biological sex.

Gerry Moynihan KC, acting on behalf of the government, argued that placing trans prisoners in the estate that correlated with their biological sex would breach their human rights.