A campaign group which won a landmark Supreme Court fight against the Scottish Government fears ministers are “trying to run us out of cash” ahead of a second high-profile legal action.
For Women Scotland is preparing to take on the Scottish Government again in 2026, with a legal challenge against the policy of allowing transgender women to be placed in the female prison estate.
The action comes in the wake of the group’s success at the Supreme Court in April, when judges ruled the term “woman” in the Equality Act refers to biological sex.
While the Scottish Government has said it accepts the ruling, For Women Scotland director Susan Smith said ministers have not yet paid legal costs owed to the group after the case.
Speaking to the Press Association, Ms Smith said she fears this is a “deliberate strategy”.
Referring to the Scottish Government, the campaigner said: “They have not paid us yet, because they owe us costs.
“We think they are putting that off as long as possible, we will have to go back to court to get that straightened out, but even then it will take months for them to pay up.
“I think that is a deliberate strategy on their part.”
For Women Scotland spent more than £400,000 on the previous case, she added, saying this was crowd-funded and boosted by a “large donation” from Harry Potter author JK Rowling, which the group is “very grateful for”.
Ms Smith added: “The Scottish Government is obviously very reluctant to pay.
“Fortunately, our lawyers know we are good for it eventually but at the moment it is a little bit difficult and we feel we can’t keep going back to people and asking them to donate, because people have been so very generous already and we can’t just keep putting people in this position.
“I think this is what the Government is relying on, that they are going to just keep trying to run us out of cash.”
Her comments come ahead of a judicial review in 2026 over the “scandal” that can mean transgender women are placed in female prisons.
Ms Smith said the policy has “been a disaster”, adding female inmates who are “already very vulnerable women” are being placed in “very difficult situations”.
She insisted: “It is an abuse of these women’s human rights. If they were prisoners of war this wouldn’t be allowed under the Geneva convention.”
For Women Scotland is “not sure” how many transwomen are incarcerated in female prisons, she said, adding the Scottish Government had “stopped allowing the release of the numbers” – with Ms Smith claiming this “tells its own tale”.
With the case set to be heard in 2026, she added: “We’re facing having to go to yet another judicial review to get the Government to implement the findings of the Supreme Court.”
While For Women Scotland won its Supreme Court case this year, Ms Smith said there is still a “huge reluctance” from many organisations to act on the ruling – describing this as a “wearisome”.
More than eight months on from that victory, she insisted: “We are still very pleased that we won obviously, we are still hugely delighted that the law is on our side.”
But Ms Smith said the group had “possibly underestimated” how “entrenched” trans-rights “ideology” had become.
As a result, she added: “I think there is a huge reluctance on the part of some organisations to get rid of it.
“The law is with us, but I think it is going to take a few more goes at things to really dig it all out, and that is a little bit wearisome.
“I think we a little bit naively assumed organisations would start to take responsibility.”
However, she was clear that women’s rights are “certainly in a better place” than they were a year ago as a result of the Supreme Court judgment, adding: “It is now just going to be the hard grind of getting everybody to accept what the ruling says.”
Scottish Conservative equalities spokesperson Tess White said: “For Women Scotland’s suspicions are entirely understandable, given the SNP government’s shameful, heel-dragging response to defeat in the Supreme Court.”
The Tory added: “Instead of issuing a clear directive to Scotland’s public bodies to abide by the ruling on the legal definition of a woman – along with an apology for wrongly imposing gender self-ID on them in the first place – John Swinney has dithered and stalled for months. ”
Ms White insisted: “Nationalist ministers need to promptly reimburse FWS for the legal costs incurred bravely standing up for the women that they betrayed.
“John Swinney should also stop defending the indefensible and accept that no male-bodied prisoner should ever be allowed in a women’s prison, end of story.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government has made clear it accepts the Supreme Court ruling and is taking forward the detailed work necessary.
“There is an established process whereby parties seek to establish the final costs payable for a legal case. Hearings have been fixed for January 22 2026 in relation to the Court of Session account of expenses and February 13 2026 in relation to the Supreme Court Bill of Costs.”
Starmer says many ‘still struggling with cost of living’ in Christmas message
Greta Thunberg arrested at protest supporting Palestine Action hunger strikers
Conservative Supreme Court justices join liberals to block Trump’s troops in Chicago
Charity to expand work to clear explosives in Gaza amid ‘immense’ devastation
Pregnant women urged to get flu vaccine ‘as soon as possible’
One of UK’s rarest plants brought back from brink of extinction
