Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon has been accused of "moral cowardice" after failing to attend Holyrood to hear the SNP react to her transgender policies being rebuked by the Supreme Court.
The Scottish government made its first formal response on Tuesday to the high-profile court ruling that its previous definition of a woman had been unlawful.
But Sturgeon, who was the driving force behind the SNP's backing of gender self-identification, wasn't there to hear it.
The Times reports SNP social justice secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville told Holyrood she would amend public sector guidance on trans policies but did not set out a timeframe.
She said: “The Scottish government does, of course, accept the judgment of the Supreme Court. It is a significant legal ruling and it is right that we take time to consider it.”
The absence of Sturgeon, who remains an MSP, from Holyrood drew criticism, with For Women Scotland campaigner Susan Smith calling it "despicable".
Former SNP MP Joanna Cherry claimed Sturgeon, who has not yet publicaly responded to the court ruling, had gone into hiding.
She said: “If Nicola Sturgeon believes the Supreme Court got it wrong, she should come out and say so,” Cherry said. “To my mind the silence is redolent of cowardice.
“So it would be nice for her to say something now, and it would be nice for her to apologise to vulnerable women, working-class women, women who don’t have her voice. They’re the people she needs to apologise to.”