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A transgender butcher, who police say is a man, charged in Scotland with the disappearance of an 11-year-old schoolgirl, arrived at court wearing pink nail polish.
Andrew George Miller, 53, was charged after the boy was found safe and sound at a house near Galashiels on Monday night.
The suspect, who arrived at Selkirk Sheriff’s Court covered in a blanket but with her fingernails exposed, identifies herself as a woman named Amy George, but has both male and female identities on social media.
Miller’s now-closed butcher shop, Millers of Melrose, was featured in one of JK Rowling’s Strike novels and at one point the relevant passage was shown in the window.
Police Scotland sparked a debate yesterday after declaring Miller to be a man.
Andrew Miller arrived at Selkirk Sheriff’s Court covered in a blanket but with his polished pink fingernails visible
Andrew George Miller, 53, has been charged by an 11-year-old schoolgirl who went missing over the weekend.
Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon has repeatedly referred to biologically male offenders by their chosen female pronouns.
Ms Sturgeon has come under sustained pressure over her gender recognition reform bill for fears it could make it easier for predatory men to impersonate women.
He has faced a maelstrom of criticism in the wake of the Bryson Island scandal, in which a rapist who attacked two women identified himself as female in an apparent bid to ease jail time.
As is customary in Scottish law, it is not specified what crime or crimes the police have charged Miller with.
The suspect identifies herself as a woman named Amy George, but has two social media profiles and posts with male (left) and female identities.
Gender issues in Scotland have become an increasingly difficult issue for Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, right.
Miller’s Amy George’s social media page features a series of images on the suspect’s female ID
A black and white photograph of Miller is on one of the accused suspect’s social media pages.
Under the masculine identity, Miller seemed to be very interested in Ms Sturgeon’s new law, posting online in January this year: “Silly Girls in Westminster – Never mess with Scottish transgender issues.”
A team of forensic officers have been seen at Miller’s home in the town of Gattonside.
It’s three miles from where the head student was last seen before she went missing.
A neighbor said: ‘A man was seen being loaded into the back of the police vehicle.
“It’s a really prosperous area and it’s extremely quiet, so all of this has been a bit of a shock. The person who lives there used to run the butcher shop on Melrose.
“They use a woman’s name now, but before they were known as Andrew and they are very well known in the community.”
The 53-year-old man arrested in the disappearance was identified as a man in police advertisements yesterday.
The Let Women Speak rally, which was organized by the group Standing for Women in George Square, Glasgow, in support of the UK government’s use of a Section 35 order to block the recent recognition reform bill genre of Scotland.
Protesters take part in the Let Women Speak rally which was organized by the group Standing for Women in George Square, Glasgow, over the weekend.
A statement from the force said: ‘A 53-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the disappearance of an 11-year-old girl from Galashiels, who was reported missing on Sunday 5 February.
“The girl was tracked down at a property in the Galashiels area at around 9:30pm on Monday, February 6.
Investigations into the circumstances are ongoing.”
Police who had been searching for her were joined by volunteers, the Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team and the Border Search and Rescue Unit, as a helicopter toured the area.
Specialist water search teams searched the River Tweed for clues, while the public was urged to check their outbuildings and sheds for any sign of the missing youth. Speaking at a news conference outside the Galashiels police station on Monday, the area commander, Chief Superintendent Catriona Paton, issued a request for information.
Police publicly announced that the girl had been found ‘healthy and well’ at around 10:30pm on Monday and thanked everyone for their search efforts.