A charity chief executive has apologised "unreservedly" to rape survivors affected by failings at support centre in Edinburgh.

The head of a charity that oversees Scotland’s rape crisis centres has refused to quit after a report found that sexual violence victims were “damaged” by a policy that hindered their access to biologically female counsellors.

Mridul Wadhwa has stood down from her role at Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre after a report was published into the site's fallings.

Mridul Wadhwa – a trans woman – resigned after a Rape Crisis Scotland report found she failed to behave professionally while head of Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC). The investigation, carried out by an independent consultant, also found Ms Wadhwa “did not understand the limits of her authority” and the needs of survivors were not prioritised.

Sandy Brindley apologised "unreservedly" to service users at Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre after it failed to provide women-only spaces for 16 months.