Elena Whitham replaces Ash Regan as legal affairs minister

Elena Whitham

Ms Whitham will replace Ash Regan, who resigned over her opposition to the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Ms Regan said in a statement: “My conscience would not allow me to vote for a bill where I could not be 100 per cent certain that women and girls would not be in danger.”

Prior to entering elected politics, Ms Whitham worked in community youth and homelessness roles and ran three businesses as a sole trader, in addition to spending over a decade as a Women’s Aid worker in Ayrshire, supporting women and children experiencing domestic abuse.

More recently, she served as the depute leader of East Ayrshire Council and was also COSLA’s community wellbeing spokesperson, where her remit included housing and homelessness.

Ms Sturgeon said: “I would like to thank Ash Regan for her ministerial contribution to the Scottish government, most notably in leading new legislation to control the sale and use of fireworks and tackling inequality in the justice system.

“I’m pleased to appoint Elena to her first ministerial position, which has cross-cutting responsibilities across Scotland’s fire service, our justice system, and the prevention of violence against women and girls.

“I’m confident Elena’s professional and personal experience will stand her in good stead for this role and I look forward to working with her to improve the safety of communities across the country.”