An SNP politician has been heckled by a Question Time audience after she followed Nicola Sturgeon's lead by refusing to say if a transgender rapist is a man or a woman.

Jenny Gilruth, transport minister at Holyrood, provoked loud groans from a Glasgow BBC crowd after she repeatedly dodged questions over the sex of Isla Bryson, previously Adam Graham, who was initially placed in a female jail after being convicted of two rapes.

The MSP, a former teacher, had been challenged by the journalist and author Ella Whelan to state whether she believed Bryson was male or female after she repeatedly referred to the predator as “that individual” rather than he or she.

Ms Gilruth replied that she believed Bryson was “a rapist” and agreed with her party leader that she “didn’t know enough about the individual in question” to say whether the rapist was male or female.

Audience members in Scotland’s largest city, which voted in favour of independence in 2014, shouted “you haven’t” at Ms Gilruth when she claimed to have answered the question about Bryson’s sex.

Given a further opportunity to respond by host Fiona Bruce following the hostile response, Ms Gilruth said: “This individual is a rapist, that is the most important thing.” The answer provoked loud groans from the audience.

Ms Gilruth, who is married to the former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale, voted in favour of Ms Sturgeon’s plan to allow Scots to change their legal sex simply by signing a declaration.

Rachael Hamilton, equalities spokeswoman for the Scottish Tories, said the minister had "tied herself in knots" rather than "just being upfront".

"This was an excruciating experience for Jenny Gilruth on Question Time," she said.

"She parroted Nicola Sturgeon’s lines from earlier in the day at First Minister's Questions and simply could not answer this straightforward question from a fellow panellist.

“The audience in Nicola Sturgeon’s home city made their feelings known loud and clear at one of her ministers dodging this question.

"It is astonishing that the SNP government from the top down appear to accept Adam Graham should be considered a woman, simply because he says he is, regardless of his crimes."

'Trans women are women'

The self-ID proposals, had they not been blocked by the UK Government, would have allowed any Scottish man aged 16 or over to become legally female by signing a declaration.

They would not have had to provide any evidence they were genuinely transgender.

The Scottish Prison Service policy, which led to Bryson initially being placed in a female prison before the 31-year-old was moved following a public backlash, follows the same principles as the SNP’s self-identification stance.

Ms Sturgeon repeatedly dismissed fears that allowing men to become legally female without any checks would put women and girls at risk, only for the claims to be undermined by the Bryson case.

The SNP administration's official policy already states: "It is the view of the Scottish Government that trans women are women."  

Legal experts have said Bryson would have been able to become legally female had the self-ID system been in force, which would have made it harder to exclude the rapist from women’s spaces.

Some trans rights activists who support the SNP legislation believe that trans women are literally women.

'Heinous crime'

India Willoughby, a transgender journalist and reality TV personality, also appeared on the Question Time panel and claimed to be a “biological woman”.

Last week, Bryson was sent to Cornton Vale women's prison, in line with Scottish Prison Service (SPS) guidance stating that trans criminals should be sent to the jail that matches their self-identified gender.

They were kept segregated from other inmates and following a huge public outcry, the rapist was moved to a men's cell in Edinburgh's Saughton jail.

Ms Whelan insisted that women would not be “forced to say things that we know aren’t true”. She said that men could not “turn into women by stating it”.

Ms Gilruth said earlier on the show, before she was challenged by Ms Whelan: “That individual is a rapist, that individual has committed a heinous crime against a woman and that individual deserves to be in jail for a very, very long time.”