Prison bosses have refused to say who sanctioned the transfer of trans rapist Isla Bryson to a women's jail.
The Scottish Government faced uproar last month after it was revealed that Bryson - who carried out two rapes while known as Adam Graham - had been sent to Cornton Vale nick near Stirling.
The rapist had initially been held in the women's prison on January 24 after her conviction at the High Court in Glasgow - before Nicola Sturgeon announced in parliament two days' later she had been transferred to a men's jail.
Teresa Medhurst, chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), today denied having been leant on by SNP ministers to move Bryson after the story was picked up by the media.
Appearing before the Scottish Parliament's justice committee, Medhurst admitted having a "conversation about the case management of that individual... where I was made aware of ministers' views."
She added: "I want to make this very clear, the placement of prisoners is an operational matter for the SPS.
"That decision was taken by operational people, in respect of both the initial placement of the individual, and the subsequent decision to move the individual.
"It was in no way a ministerial decision."
Russell Findlay, the Scottish Conservatives community safety spokesman, asked Medhurst if the conversation was to make clear she "should act in a certain way".
The SPS boss replied: "There was no suggestion that I should act - it was general concerns about the placement of the individual."
Jamie Greene, Tory justice spokesman, asked who made the decision to house Isla Bryson in the female prison estate.
Medhurst responded: "That decision was taken by headquarters."
Pressed on what she meant, she added: "I'm really not at liberty to say. It's normally, there are processes locally, processes nationally, and people will seek advice through their channels to headquarters, and that was what was done on this occasion."
She continued: "Ultimately, the position is I'm accountable for all decisions made in the organisation."
Asked if she was effectively overruled by SNP ministers, she insisted "absolutely not".
Ministers hastily ordered the SPS to launch two reviews on how trans prisoners were accommodated and temporarily banned their transfer between male and female jails.
The first report was not published in full and was quickly branded a "whitewash" by opposition parties.
There is no date for when the second will be produced.
Keith Brown, the justice secretary, told MSPs he only became aware of Bryson being sent to Cornton Vale when it was reported in the media.
"I would not normally be uniformally told of every prisoner being sent to prison," he said.
Brown had last month initially defended the decision by the SPS to transfer Bryson to Cornton Vale - only for Nicola Sturgeon to announce the following day the rapist had been transferred to a men's prison.
He added: "The process that was followed in this case is the process that is always followed and I have faith in it.
"There is very little evidence that the way this prisoner was dealt with would have been different in any other circumstances."
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