The Scottish government's chances of winning a legal challenge over the gender reform row are "very low", a former Supreme Court judge has said.

Lord Hope said a UK government document outlining its reasons for blocking the Scottish reforms was "devastating".

And he said Scotland's first minister was risking wasting a lot of time and money by taking the issue to court.

He instead called for both sides to attempt to find compromise "in a much calmer atmosphere".

Lord Hope claimed it was "quite wrong" to characterise the UK government's blocking of the bill as an attack on devolution.

The Scottish government says the UK government's use of the Section 35 order to block the bill is an attack on democracy.

Read more here.

Image source, PA Media

The UK government's decision to block legislation that aims to make it easier for people in Scotland to change their legally recognised gender is to be challenged in court.

The Scottish government has confirmed that it will take legal action against the use of a Section 35 order.

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack has used a Section 35 order, external to prevent the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill from gaining Royal Assent

MSPs voted in December last year to pass the controversial Gender Recognition Bill, external by 86 votes to 39.

Click here for detailed analysis of the row.

The legal arguments over Scotland's gender reformspublished at 14:37 British Summer Time 19 April 2023

14:37 BST 19 April 2023

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Image source, PA Media

The Scottish and UK governments are set for a courtroom showdown over Holyrood's gender reform legislation after Scottish ministers announced a legal challenge.

UK ministers used veto powers for the first time ever to block the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill. But that decision will now be examined by judges at Scotland's Court of Session - and it could end up in the Supreme Court.

Click here for our political correspondent Philip Sim's detailed analysis of the legal arguments on both sides.

The UK government is blocking the gender reform legislation under what is known as a Section 35 order.

It prevents legislation passed by Holyrood from being given royal assent if the Scottish secretary believes it would have a detrimental impact on areas reserved to Westminster.

This is a power which was written into the Scotland Act to give the sovereign parliament at Westminster a veto in certain circumstances.

But it was a highly controversial move, given both the sensitivities of the legislation involved and the enmity between the administrations in Edinburgh and London.

This row is an unprecedented one, because previous disputes have been about whether certain topics are within Holyrood's remit or not.

Here, it's broadly accepted that MSPs were acting within their powers when they passed the bill. What's in question is how the law interacts with UK legislation, and whether it could have consequences which would echo out across the rest of the UK.

That means the Scottish government's main route of challenge is a judicial review at the Court of Session.

The Scottish government is to launch a legal challenge to Westminster's block on its controversial gender reforms.

The proposals, which would allow people in Scotland to self-identify their sex, were passed by the Scottish Parliament in December last year.

But they were blocked by the UK government over their potential impact on UK-wide equality laws.

First Minister Humza Yousaf has previously described that move as an "undemocratic veto".

Read more here.

Good afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of the Scottish government's statement on its legal challenge to the UK government's decision to block the Gender Reform Bill.

The Scottish government has confirmed that it will take legal action against the use of a Section 35 order by Scottish Secretary Alister Jack.

The statement is due to begin at 14:50 this afternoon

We'll bring you reports and analysis and you can watch the statement by clicking on the play icon at the top of the page.