VICTORY!

'...for common sense, for reality' as Supreme Court judges rule the legal definition of a woman IS based on biological sex

- Steph Spyro and David Walker

THE SNP Government suffered a humiliating defeat in a Supreme Court ruling hailed as a "victory for common sense" and women's rights.

Judges at Britain's highest court unanimously decided that the terms "woman" and "sex" in the Equality Act refers to a "biological woman and biological sex".

The verdict, which means transgender women are not legally women, has been described as a win "for biology, for common sense, for reality".

It will have far-reaching implications on how sex-based rights apply across the UK. This includes how women-only spaces are allowed to operate, including: domestic violence refuges, rape crisis centres, female-only hospital wards, changing rooms and sports clubs.

Women's rights campaigner and author JK Rowling, below, said the verdict has "protected the rights of women and girls across the UK".

She praised the efforts of For Women Scotland (FWS) campaigners Susan Smith and Marion Calder and Helen Joyce from Sex Matters who brought the case.

She said: "It took three extraordinary, tenacious Scottish women with an army behind them to get this case heard by the Supreme Court and, in winning, they've protected the rights of women and girls across the UK."

It means only those who are born female are entitled to sex-based protections and facilities, bringing an end to SNP pushing of gender self-identification.

The SNP Government argued transgender people with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) were entitled to sex-based protections, but this was dismissed.

Susan Smith, co-founder of For Women Scotland, said: "This has been a really, really long road.

"Today the judges have said what we always believed to be the case, that women are protected by their biological sex.