JK Rowling warned Police in Scotland against “going after” any woman for ‘misgendering’ trans people after the force dismissed the first complaints against her under the new ‘hate speech’ laws.

The Harry Potter author said she hoped “every woman in Scotland” would be “reassured” by the force’s announcement that her stance that biological men who identify as women are really men was not criminal.

In a direct challenge to Police Scotland, she said she expected all women who expressed similar views would be treated equally under the law “irrespective of profile or financial means”.

Rowling, who lives in Edinburgh, said: “If they go after any woman for simply calling a man a man, I’ll repeat that woman’s words and they can charge us both at once.”

Hours after the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act came into force on Monday, Rowling posted pictures of 10 high-profile trans people on Monday and ridiculed their claims to be women.