IN the middle of a pandemic, especially with severe criticism about the speed of the vaccine roll-out, you would imagine it would be all hands to the pump for the Scottish Government.

However, it would appear that some within the cabinet are in danger of becoming totally pre-occupied with the rights of one particular very vocal minority, namely the trans lobby.

Nicola Sturgeon herself was forced into making a statement last week saying that transphobia within the SNP is “not acceptable” amid reports that large numbers of party members are leaving over the issue.

It’s not as if she’s got anything else to worry about at the moment after all.

The SNP has been embroiled in a deeply divisive debate about plans to make it easier for people to change their legally-recognised gender.

Some senior SNP figures have openly criticised Ms Sturgeon over the move as they are concerned about the potential that allowing people to self-identify their gender would have on women’s rights in areas such as single-sex changing rooms, and women-only shortlists.

But the row, which has been particularly fierce on social media, has led to accusations that the criticisms from some people within the SNP have crossed the line into transphobia.

It’s all an unholy mess and comes amid a backdrop of rising deaths from Covid, economic carnage and fears for the long-term future of pupils who have been forced to miss so much school in recent months.

Ms Sturgeon’s inbox is hardly empty and she should be left alone to concentrate on the serious issues of the day that affect everyone rather than deal with the gripes of single issue minority groups.

It is not, and nor should it be, a priority for a government tackling such serious issues across the whole country.

But there are a very small minority who appear to believe that it is indeed the single most important thing affecting the country at the moment and are impatient for change.

They have also been noising up the Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf who has been forced to reverse plans to exempt criticism of transgender identity from his hated Hate Crime Bill this week. Given the divisive nature of the debate, free speech on transgender issues in the Bill is crucial, otherwise people, women in particular, could be accused of ‘stirring up hatred’ for discussing them.

But by pandering to the woke brigade, Mr Yousaf has potentially opened a very large and toxic can of worms that he may find difficult to put the lid back on.

All forms of discrimination are wrong, including transphobia, and must be stamped out.

No group in society should be treated differently in the context of prejudice as the trans lobby appear to be seeking.

Hate is hate after all and it is easily defined and understood regardless of who it is against.