SNP Deputy Leader in the House of Commons Mhairi Black compares gender-critical campaigners to white supremacists.

Speaking at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Black called out those who vocally disagree with her transgender views claiming that they could not be “decent” people.

Speaking to an audience at The Stand Comedy Club, Black said: “Once upon a time, you had intellectuals who made these big prolific statements about how race was a key factor.

“[They argued] ‘I think you’ll find statistics show that if you have more Bame [black, Asian and minority ethnic] people; crime goes up’ or whatever it is. We now rightly look back on that and go, ‘You were a racist. You might be an intellectual, but what you were saying was racist.’

“If you’re not educating yourself on things, then you can’t complain when people from a minority say, ‘You’re not treating us right’, and that’s exactly what’s happening with the trans community right now.”

She added: “There are definitely bad actors at play who are radicalising people who are vulnerable. They are radicalising people who are too online.

“And they’re also using this small community as a wedge issue to cause chaos and make people divide amongst themselves.

“When you start tracing it back, the money always links back to fundamental Christian groups in America, Baptist groups, anti-abortion organisations.”

Director at For Women Scotland, Susan Smith, has said the comments made by Mhairi Black call into question her fitness for office, and that they are a “damning indictment of her intellectual capacity.”

Susan added: “Her inability to grasp why highly vulnerable women in prison, fleeing domestic violence, or being cared for in hospital might not want to share intimate spaces with someone of the male sex suggests that it is long past time she got out of her highly cosseted, gilded bubble.

“Women who disagree with her should not be forced to be silent like some latter-day scold, nor are they the racist or religious fundamentalist bogeywomen.”

Only recently have the SNP attempted to put forward Gender ID legislation that would allow a person to change their sex by signing a declaration. This was blocked by Westminster, claiming it would endanger women’s rights.

Mhairi Black, who was elected in 2015 aged 20 – the youngest MP for Britain in 350 years – has announced that she will be stepping down at the next election due to the “toxic” culture within Westminster.