Nicola Sturgeon has said that convicted rapist Isla Bryson will not serve her sentence in a women's prison.
The First Minister made the announcement in Holyrood today following a backlash against the decision by prison bosses to move rapist Isla Bryson to Cornton Vale.
The 31-year-old from Clydebank was this week convicted of raping two women in 2016 and 2019 when she was still known as Adam Graham.
But there was uproar after Bryson was initially transferred from the High Court in Glasgow on Tuesday to Cornton Vale women's prison in Stirlingshire to await sentencing.
Sturgeon told MSPs: "It would not be appropriate for me, in respect of any prisoner, to give details of where they are being incarcerated.
"But given the understandable public and parliamentary concern in this case, I can confirm to Parliament that this prisoner will not be incarcerated at Cornton Vale women’s prison.
"I hope that provides assurance to the public."
The SNP leader added that the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) was now "in the process of giving effect to the decision it has taken not to incarcerate this prisoner at Cornton Vale".
Scottish Conservatives leader Douglas Ross branded Bryson a "beast" and questioned why she had been moved to Cornton Vale in the first place.
He said: "This double rapist only decided to change gender after he was charged by the police. It took the threat of jail for this criminal to decide to change his gender. That’s not a coincidence, that is a conscious decision.
"We think it is wrong that a rapist is sent to a women’s prison. We believe a rapist having access to a women’s single-sex space is a threat."
Sturgeon responded: "Short term or long term, this prisoner is not going to be in Cornton Vale.
"But it is important to allow the Scottish Prison Service operationally to give effect to the decisions that they have taken."
Speaking to journalists later, the First Minister said no "formal direction" had been given to the prison service by the Scottish Government on where Bryson should be imprisoned.
She added: “In all cases where a risk assessment is being done, the prison service will not necessarily wait until it is concluded if there are reasons for a different decision on where a prisoner is accommodated."
A six-day trial at the High Court in Glasgow heard Bryson raped two women - one in Clydebank in 2016 and one in Drumchapel, Glasgow, in 2019.
She met both her victims online, with prosecutors saying she "preyed" on vulnerable women.
Bryson denied the charges but was found guilty by a jury after less than a day of deliberation.
Her bail was revoked and she was remanded in custody until February 28 to allow judge Lord Scott to gather "as much information as possible" on her before deciding her sentencing.
Bryson's case concluded just weeks after the UK Government blocked gender recognition reforms (GRR) passed by the Scottish Parliament.
The legislation, which is now likely to end up in court, aimed to make it easier for people to change their legally-recognised gender by obtaining a gender recognition certificate (GRC)
But SPS policy means prisoners do not require a GRC if they have already declared themselves to have changed gender.
Fiona Cruickshanks, head of operations at SPS, had earlier said if an inmate poses a particular risk they could be separated from other prisoners.
She said: "If we think that an individual poses particular risks, or if there is a particular risk to them, then we have the opportunity to remove them from mainstream and keep them separated until such times as our decision is made on how we best manage that risk.
"Any transgender person who is admitted into custody is admitted into the establishment that matches their identified gender that they were living in within the community."
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