MSP Maggie Chapman will remain in her role on a key Holyrood committee after surviving a Tory attempt to oust her.
Chapman’s fellow members on the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee voted to oppose a Conservative-tabled motion to remove her on Tuesday morning.
It comes after the Green MSP told a protest, organised by trans rights activists in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling that sex is biological under the 2010 Equality Act, that the court’s decision had been motivated by “bigotry, prejudice, and hatred”.
The comments sparked a backlash from Scotland’s legal profession, with both the Law Society and the Faculty of Advocates speaking out against Chapman, who is deputy convener of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee.
The motion to remove Chapman – who attended Tuesday morning's meeting remotely – was lodged by Conservative MSP Tess White, who said her Green counterpart’s comments had been "dangerous and incendiary" and that there "must be boundaries".
The Tory MSP pointed to Chapman's refusal to apologise for the remarks about the Supreme Court, saying she was "devoid of remorse".
Speaking in her own defence, Chapman said that rights for women and trans people were "going backwards" and pointed to analysis from the Good Law Project and others raising questions about whether the court's ruling met obligations under international human rights law.
Though the Supreme Court has the right to issue a ruling, Chapman said, she did not have an obligation to agree with it, pointing to previous court rulings that went on to be condemned, such as the pardoned miners.
There are five members on the committee other than Chapman and White: SNP MSPs Karen Adam (who is the convener), Marie McNair, and Evelyn Tweed, Scottish Labour’s Paul O'Kane, and Tory MSP Pam Gosal.
O'Kane told the committee that he wanted to give Chapman the opportunity to withdraw her remarks about the Supreme Court and unequivocally uphold the independence of the judiciary. If she would not take it, the Labour MSP said, he would vote to remove her from her role.
McNair said she believed that Chapman had not been speaking at the protest in her role as deputy convener of the committee, did not think her comments were an issue for the committee, and so would not support the Tory motion to remove her.
Chapman spoke again and said she respected the rule of law and the judiciary, but stopped short of apologising for her comments on the Supreme Court. White then asked Chapman to show remorse for a final time, to which the Green MSP replied that she had said all she wished to.
The MSPs on the committee then voted by four to three to reject the motion. The SNP and Green MSPs voted as a bloc, as did the Tory and Labour MSPs.
A Scottish Parliament spokesperson previously explained the process: “An MSP can be removed from sitting on a committee by agreement to a parliamentary motion.
“The motion would need to be lodged by the committee and a majority of members of the committee would need to agree on the need for this motion.”
