A civil servant at the Scottish Government's Victoria Quay offices in Edinburgh has sparked anger among colleagues after reportedly attending work, including a training event, dressed with cat ears and a visible tail. The employee, said to be a transgender woman, is alleged to have caused distress among staff, prompting calls for dismissal, though officials have declined to confirm whether any disciplinary action was taken. The row has drawn wider criticism of the Scottish Government's professional standards and recruitment culture.

Claims first circulated on social media, with one account alleging the worker's "fetish was seemingly enabled" and that colleagues were "forced to participate." A former civil servant said the incident angered members of the Scottish Sex Equality and Equity Network, while ex-official Murray Meikle described the Scottish Government as "utterly dysfunctional" and said criticising the matter could be "career ending." Scottish Conservative spokesman Murdo Fraser called the episode "scarcely believable" at taxpayers' expense, and a government spokesman said only that all civil servants must "dress appropriately for work," declining to say if the described conduct met that standard.