Women's protests have taken place outside the Scottish Parliament this morning.

       Nicola Sturgeon received "extraordinary" boos when she was quoted as saying "I would never do anything to harm women".

       The protest was organised by a group called For Women Scotland who claim to be working to protect and strengthen women and children's rights.

       In an advertising post on Twitter, the group wrote: "The Programme for Gov will be announced when Parl reconvenes & is likely to incl a commitment to GRA reform.

       "To coincide with first FMQs, we invite everyone to a demo at Parliament on Thurs 2nd Sep at 11am.

       "Let MSPs know #WomenWontWheesht #SexMatters & say #NoThankYou to selfID."

       They added: "Stop the Scottish Government giving our name away!

       "Woman = adult human female. Say no to Self-ID of sex."

       The protest comes after the National Records of Scotland (NRS) revealed that people can answer the male or female question in Scotland's 2022 census based on how they identify themselves rather than according to legal status.

       The guidelines issued by the NRS tell people to answer the sex question according to how they self-identify, regardless of what it says on their birth certificates.

       The NRS said: "If you are transgender the answer you give can be different from what is on your birth certificate.

       “You do not need a gender recognition certificate (GRC).

       “If you are non-binary or you are not sure how to answer, you could use the sex registered on your official documents, such as your passport.”

       Pictures from the scene showed hundreds of people gathered outside the Scottish Parliament with banners reading "stop telling women to be quite," "women's rights are not hateful," "no to self-ID," and "cheese is more protected than women".

       Marion Millar, who is the main organiser of the protest, was seen standing on stage delivering a speech about the vulnerability of women in Scottish prisons as well as at home.

       In her speech, Ms Millar used the convicted murderer Paris Green, who was born as Peter Laing and was sent to a women's prison, as an example to criticise the decision to use self-ID.

       She said: "Green had a male physic and fully intact male genitalia but was sent to a female estate on the basis of gender identity."

       Scottish journalist Susan Dalgety, who is a columnist for The Scotsman, also made a speech in which she said that "we cannot and will not allow our Parliament, for one so many of us here fought for, to take away our fundamental rights as women."

       She continued: "Self-Id means our biological sex does not count. That only an essence, a feeling of being a woman matters. Any man can become a woman simply by declaring himself female."

       As hundreds of supportive boos erupted Mr Dalgety added: "We are gathered here today to claim our rights as women. It will be a long and hard campaign and the numbers are against us. Sisters we will win because women won't wheest."

       This is a breaking news story... More to follow