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A TRANSGENDER ex-squaddie, told to prove she was a woman has overturned a bid to block her state pension – thanks to The Record.

Former Royal Scots soldier Sandra MacDougall, born as Ian, had surgery to change from a man to a woman in 2000.

As a woman, the 64-year-old was entitled to her state pension in November 2014, but instead the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) told her they wouldn’t pay out until they had proof she was now female.

Sandra, who was married and later divorced, has a British passport and an EU health insurance card under her name.

But Sandra, who has undergone a triple heart bypass and is unable to work, says the DWP refused to accept any of these forms of identification. She said: “It was very difficult, I was sick with worry and couldn’t sleep. I didn’t have a certificate as I had surgery before

these certificates came in to existence.”

The DWP also axed Sandra’s £170 monthly disability living allowance.

She was then told she faced a 14-month wait on the breadline to receive an NHS approved psychiatric report to confirm her new identity. In October last year, Sandra was told to provide a gender recognition certificate or face a three-year wait to retire under the different pension rules for men – despite receiving benefits from the DWP as a female for years.

But after The Record intervened, Sandra, from Pollok, Glasgow, has been granted the pension she is entitled to.

Sandra said: “I can’t thank The Daily Record enough for what they have done to help me.”

Scottish Transgender Alliance Manager James Morton said: “Trans people deserve to be

able to change their gender on their official documents without that being a red-tape nightmare.”

A DWP spokesman said:“Our policy is to pay State Pension according to an individual’s gender once they have gained legal recognition in that gender.”