RISHI Sunak today came out swinging for JK Rowling as the beloved author declared war on trans zealots.
Rowling appeared to flout draconian new Scottish hate speech laws yesterday, which campaigners say make it illegal to refuse to call a biological man a woman in Scotland.
Mr Sunak said: “People should not be criminalised for stating simple facts on biology.
“We believe in free speech in this country.
"We're not going to do anything like that here in England. We should not be criminalising people saying common sense things about biological sex.
"It just shows whether it's the SNP or Labour - these are the wrong set of priorities for the country."
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan slammed the Scottish hate speech rules as "terrible bit of legislation".
Ms Keegan told Times Radio: "People shouldn't be criminalised for just stating biological facts and it does seem odd that one of the ministers in Scotland said, that you could be arrested for misgendering.
"I'm pretty sure that the police in Scotland, as are the police in England, should be much more focussed on fighting crime, than policing people's thoughts.
"So this is a terrible bit of legislation. It's not something that will be introduced in this country."
The Education Secretary added: "It's really, really important that, biological facts, people can say biological facts and that is a protected... This is free speech."
Even Labour this morning came out to back Rowling - despite the party's MSPs supporting the hate laws in Holyrood.
National Campaign Coordinator Pat Mcfadden said: "She shouldn't be arrested.
"She's entitled to her view. In the UK we are not planning to legislate for new crimes in this area."
Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross added: "JK Rowling speaks for many people across Scotland.
"Humza Yousaf’s hate crime law is an attack on free speech and on women’s rights."
Tory former minister Brendan Clarke-Smith said: "People should not be criminalised for stating biological facts.
"The SNP’s new thoughtcrime laws are a threat to basic freedoms and the PM is right to call them out and back JK Rowling."
The national treasure taunted police by using the hashtag “arrest me” as she posted a series of barbs at trans women criminals and activists.
Angry Rowling, 58, laid into Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf’s Hate Crime and Public Order Act, under which cops can investigate those accused of “stirring up hatred”.
She said the new law was open to abuse by activists out to “silence those of us speaking out about the dangers of eliminating women’s and girls’ single-sex spaces”.
To underline her point, she flagged cases including that of Isla Bryson, previously Adam Graham.
Heavy with sarcasm, she said rapist Bryson “found her true authentic female self shortly before she was due to be sentenced”.
She added: “Misgendering is hate, so respect Isla’s pronouns, please.”
In the same vein, she said Samantha Norris — jailed after she had “exposed her penis” to two young girls — was “still a lady to me”.
Amy George, who got 20 years for sexually abusing a girl he abducted while dressed as a woman, and broadcaster India Willougby were also targeted.
But in a further message, Rowling then added: “April Fools! Obviously the people mentioned in the above tweets aren’t women at all, but men, every last one of them.”
SNP minister Siobhian Brown appeared to admit Rowling could be prosecuted.
Asked if misgendering someone online was now a crime, she said: “It could be investigated.”
