NICOLA Sturgeon has responded to the bitter row about transgender rights which has flared up inside the SNP after the leak of private messages from concerned MSPs.

The First Minister said she wanted to “understand and address the concerns being expressed, so we can build a Scotland where everyone feels safe and secure”.

READ MORE: SNP MSPs say Nicola Sturgeon 'out of step' on transgender rights 

It follows the leak on Tuesday of messages between three female MSPs who expressed disquiet about Ms Sturgeon’s push for new self-declaratory laws on gender recognition.

Minister Ash Denham, former minister Gillian Martin and Holyrood equalities committee convener Ruth Maguire said Ms Sturgeon was “out of step” with colleagues on the issue.

They also suggested Equalities Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville had failed to relay their concerns and those of other SNP MSPs to the First Minister.

It led to a backlash from transgender rights activists and some of the SNP’s own MPs, and threatened to become a flashpoint at this month's SNP conference.

The Scottish Government consulted a year ago on whether to change the 2004 Gender Recognition Act to allow transgender people to self-declare their legal gender.

Although 60 per cent of respondents supported the move, the government has yet to announce its next steps, after unease within the Holyrood group.

Ms Somerville today published a blog on the Scottish Government website about trans rights in which she admitted the debate was “becoming very polarised”.

READ MORE:  SNP equalities chief in row over trans rights comments

She said: “People raising genuine concerns about women’s rights shouldn’t suffer knee jerk accusations of transphobia.”

She said she also understood fears “that some men will use trans equality as a Trojan horse to access women and do us harm”.

But she went on: “The problem we face is not one of trans women wanting to feel safe and accepted - it is one of how we protect and safeguard women against potentially abusive men. That’s not a new problem in Scottish or global society – nor is it one created by trans women.”

Ms Sturgeon promoted the blog on Twitter with a message of her own.

She wrote: “As both a #TransAlly and a proud feminist, I want us to understand and address the concerns being expressed, so we can build a Scotland where everyone feels safe and secure.”

In her blog, Ms Somerville said she was a "trans ally" but also "a woman and a lifelong, passionate feminist".

She said: "I know that while the battle for women’s rights and equality has made great strides in recent years, there is still much more to do. I also know that, at times, the progress already made can feel fragile.

“Just as the First Minister has herself said in the past, I personally don’t feel conflict between my support for trans rights and my support for women’s rights.

“But I know that some do feel that conflict – and that the issues they are raising are not motivated by transphobia but by a concern, sincerely felt, that space hard won by women down the generations will be compromised.

“It strikes me in listening to some of the concerns raised that, at their core, it is not so much a problem with the rights of trans women but instead a fear of men who abuse women.

“The fear is that some men will use trans equality as a Trojan horse to access women and do us harm. And I understand that.

“But it means the problem we face is not one of trans women wanting to feel safe and accepted – it is one of how we protect and safeguard women against potentially abusive men. That’s not a new problem in Scottish or global society – nor is it one created by trans women."

Alluding to the Scottish Government's plans to overhaul the GRA and make legal gender recognition simpler, she said: “I believe we can work through many of these issues, address the concerns that are being raised, and make Scotland a place where everyone can feel safe. "And do so while standing full square behind the rights of trans men and women not to be discriminated against.

“It is also important to point out that Scotland would not be any kind of pioneer in this work, we would simply be catching up with changes that many other countries, including Ireland, have already made.”

SNP MSP Joan McAlpine, who has been deluged with abuse by trans activists for questioning proposed legal changes, welcomed Ms Somerville’s statement that women who raised concerns about self identified sex were not transphobic.

She said: “These women as subject to misogynist attacks, name calling, silencing and threats of violence. This must stop.

“Trans people already have legal protections which we all support. “However sex self ID means the term transwoman is broadened to be almost meaningless, as any male can say that they are female without making physical changes to their body and then access single sex services and occupations.

“As well as women’s safety, this potentially impacts on our legal rights to privacy, dignity and things like fairness in sport.

“All women should be able to discuss these matters openly. It is particularly important that MSPs can speak up for their concerned female constituents without being attacked.”

The Scottish Trans Alliance also welcomed Ms Somerville's comments, saying it was "reassuring" in light of recent public conversations about trans rights.

It said: "We will continue to work for the realisation of trans rights that is fully inclusive of non-binary people, alongside trans men and trans women."