Transgender Tara Hudson Moved To Female Jail

A transgender woman who complained she was being harassed by inmates at her all-male jail has been moved to a female jail, say Sky sources.

Tara Hudson, 26, had admitted headbutting a bar manager during a pub fight that took place on Boxing Day and last week she was jailed for 12 weeks as punishment.

Hudson, who is still legally a man but has lived as a woman all her adult life and gone through six years of gender reconstruction surgery, complained she was being harassed by other inmates at the all-male prison she was sent to.

More than 125,000 people signed a petition supporting her bid to be moved to another prison.

She is now believed to have been moved to Eastwood Park Prison in Gloucester, a jail that holds around 360 women.

Ben Howlett, MP for Bath and a member of the Women and Equalities Select Committee, said: "This afternoon we have heard from a source that Tara has been taken from court to an all-female prison.

"We will be pressing the Ministry of Justice for a formal line following this and work to ensure there is no repeat of this situation in future."

The move comes just hours after Hudson lost an appeal against her sentence, which was heard at Bristol Crown Court by a panel of three judges, headed by Recorder of Bristol Llewelyn Sellick.

Hudson's barrister Nicholas Wragg said his client, who suffers from mental illness, had been separated from the rest of the prison population and "locked in a cell 23 hours a day" at HMP Horfield, which holds around 600 men.

He added: "The clang of a prison door should never be pleasant - it should have a sobering effect on a person.

"But Ms Hudson has had an awful time - she has found it unrelenting and frightening."

He said she had even been taunted as she left prison to come to court by other inmates shouting "Tara, Tara, show us your t***".

:: As It Happened: Tara Hudson's Appeal Against The Sentence That Saw Her Put In A Male Prison

The court heard that a very drunk Hudson had headbutted bar manager Christopher Dyer after he refused to sell her any more alcohol, leaving Mr Dyer with injuries that required £1,500 of dental surgery.

Hudson, who has eight previous convictions including offences for battery, had initially said the attack was in self defence but then changed her plea to one of guilty on the day of the trial.

Recorder Sellick said the appeal was dismissed after it was ruled that Hudson had a "worrying criminal record" and that the bar assault had breached a conditional discharge given just three weeks earlier.

He had, however, said consideration needed to be given as to where Hudson served her sentence, adding: "It is for the prison service and not the court to establish where a sentence should be served.

"We would invite further and sensitive consideration of these issues."

A Prison Service spokesman said: "It is longstanding policy to place offenders according to their legally recognised gender.

"However, our guidelines allow room for discretion and, in such cases, medical experts will review the circumstances in order to protect the emotional wellbeing of the person concerned.

"Our top priority is the safety and welfare of those in our custody and decisions relating to the location of transgender prisoners are taken by a range of people including psychologists, healthcare professionals and prison staff."