THE operators of the toilets at one of Scotland’s busiest train stations have rubbished a rumour that they were requiring people to show IDs before accessing the bathroom in the wake of the Supreme Court’s sex ruling.
Last week, the UK’s highest court ruled that under the 2010 Equality Act "sex" refers to biological sex. This decision alters the previously widely accepted interpretation of the 2004 Gender Recognition Act, which used “sex” and “gender” interchangeably and held that a gender recognition certificate meant a person "became for all purposes the acquired gender".
While trans people remain protected from discrimination under UK law, the ruling meant that they could be excluded from single-sex spaces such as toilets and changing rooms if “proportionate” – and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said it would pursue bodies who did not comply.
Across the UK on Saturday, tens of thousands of people turned out at protests against the Supreme Court decision, including a large demonstration in Edinburgh.
Demonstrators in the Scottish capital waved flags and signs and chanted slogans including “trans rights are human rights” and “when trans rights are under attack, what do we do? fight back” as they gathered before marching to the UK Government offices at Queen Elizabeth House.
After the protest, a post on Instagram went viral after claiming that people had been ID'ed before being allowed into the toilets at Edinburgh’s Waverley Station.
“1. Why? 2. Wtf? 3. I walked away because I’m not being asked for ID to f***ing pee.”
The post was shared on Instagram by a former MP, who called it “disgusting”.
A separate post on Twitter/X, apparently based on the first, was viewed more than 130,000 times and made the same claim, while the image was also reshared by a prominent trans activist.
However, Network Rail, which manages and runs the toilet facilities at Waverley, dismissed the rumours as untrue.
“I’ve checked it out and there’s no truth in the story,” a source told The National.
They said it appeared that one false post on Instagram had snowballed as others “posted further elsewhere without checking”.
“Definitely didn’t happen,” they added.
In London, police are investigating the graffiti left on statues in Parliament Square after the large-scale trans rights protests in the UK capital.
The square is home to 12 statues of political figures including Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Gandhi.
Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell, who was leading the policing operation for the protest, said: “It is very disappointing to see damage to seven statues and property in the vicinity of the protest today.
“We support the public’s right to protest but criminality like this is completely unacceptable.
“We are now investigating this criminal damage and urge anyone with any information to come forward.”
