That concludes general questions. The next item of business is First Minister's questions.

And at question number one, I call Douglas Ross.

Thank you, Mr. First Minister, should a convicted rapist ever serve time in a woman's prison?

First Minister.

First Minister, can I, of course, point to the fact that some matters that we will discuss in this session

of First Minister's questions are subjudice.

However, issues raised are operational matters for the Scottish Prison Service, and given

understandable concerns that have been raised, it is important that I do address them.

So I want to take some time, time, to set out the situation and answer

Douglas Ross's question directly, very clearly.

Firstly, in general, any prisoner who poses a risk of sexual offending is segregated from

other prisoners, including during any period of risk assessment.

Secondly, there is no automatic right for a trans woman convicted of a crime to serve

their sentence in a female prison, even if they have a gender recognition certificate.

Every case is subject to rigorous individual risk assessment, and as part of that, the safety

of other prisoners is paramount.

Finally, in general terms, and perhaps most importantly, I heard the Chief Executive of Rape

Crisis Scotland say this yesterday.

I don't see how it is possible to have a rapist within a female prison.

So let me be very clear.

I agree with that statement.

Bearing in mind what I've just said about the importance of individualised risk assessment

...