Douglas Ross has issued an apology after being slammed over his comments on trans women.
The Scottish Conservative leader appeared on Good Morning Scotland earlier today to say he "misspoke" during an interview with the BBC on Tuesday evening.
On The Nine, host Martin Geissler asked the Tory MSP if a trans woman was a woman.
He replied: "No. She is a female, sorry she is a male who has changed her sex but has not changed her gender."
Ross was also asked about his election pledge to ensure there are single-sex spaces available in all council-run facilities across Scotland
Geissler said: "Just to be clear, single-sex facilities, can trans women use the women’s single-sex facilities?"
Ross replied: "No they can’t."
The Moray MP was slammed for his comments with the the Equality Network, a leading LGBTI charity, saying he was "misinformed".
The group tweeted: "Sadly @Douglas4Moray is woefully misinformed and confused on this subject, and is proposing an unlawful policy.
"It is unlawful under the Equality Act for public services to have a blanket policy of excluding trans people from services that match their lived sex.
"The proposal also shows no consideration at all for trans people, or for the experiences of those who have been successfully running trans-inclusive single-sex services for years. Difficult not to conclude that this is simply attempting to gain votes from a 'culture war'."
While, SNP MSP Karen Adam said: "Trying to roll back the 2010 equality act via council elections while mixing up your transphobic lines that were fed to you…"
Ross took to the airwaves on the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme today to say he got it wrong during his interview with Geissler.
He said: "I misspoke in a later comment in that interview.
"I'm very clear that people can change their gender, they cannot change their sex. They're biologically born male or female but there are options to have gender neutral changing rooms and toilets.
"Indeed in the Highland area I cover, there were proposals for schools to have all gender neutral toilets but parents and pupils raised concerns and they've now gone back to the drawing board.
"There will be male changing rooms, female changing rooms and there will be gender neutral changing rooms."
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