The incoming chair of the LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall, says she is “truly sorry” after she expressed “huge respect” for JK Rowling in an interview with the Guardian.

Kezia Dugdale, the former leader of Scottish Labour, said she understood that her words had caused “worry, anger and upset and I am truly sorry about that”.

In an interview for the Today in Focus podcast in Edinburgh to mark her appointment as Stonewall’s chair, Dugdale was asked what she thought of the way in which Rowling has talked about transgender people.

“I have a huge respect for JK Rowling. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting her before and I think her story and how she came to be this prolific, incredible children’s writer in this city as a single mum writing in a cafe is phenomenal and an inspiration,” she said.

The Guardian then pointed out that many trans people feel the way in which Rowling has voiced her opinions on social media had become “cruel and dehumanising” and contributed to them feeling “unwelcome and unaccepted in society”.

Dugdale continued: “I understand that, and I’ve also heard JK Rowling and other people who hold a different position on these issues to me describe with a similar rawness how they’ve experienced being opposed for their views. And I just think, you know, the days of these culture wars, about sitting in polar extremes from each other, should be behind us now.”

She called for “generosity of spirit, a willingness to get into the grey area to talk about these things calmly”.

The remarks prompted reaction from both trans advocates and gender-critical feminists.

In the National, trans writer Steph Paton accused Dugdale of launching herself into her new role “with a commitment to making Stonewall even more toothless and irrelevant than it was already”.

Kathleen Stock, a philosophy professor who resigned from Sussex University after being targeted by protests over her views on gender ideology, wrote in the Times that “the former Scottish Labour leader did the unthinkable and praised JK Rowling.”

Responding to the backlash, Dugdale issued a statement saying: “In my first interview as incoming chair of Stonewall, I was asked a question about JK Rowling. In answering, I should have been absolutely unequivocal that I would never condone behaviour from anyone that seeks to or causes harm to anyone in our community. That is a red line for me and should be for all of us. I understand the interview has caused worry, anger and upset and I am truly sorry about that.

“In a world that is increasingly polarised and in which trans people have been under continuous attack for the last decade or more, I was excited to be appointed chair of Stonewall. I applied for the role because Stonewall works for the whole LGBTQ+ community. I would not have applied or have wanted to lead a charity that was not inclusive of the whole community because my feminism is and has always been trans-inclusive.”

Dugdale takes over as chair in September from Ayla Holdom, who is transgender.

Holdom said: “Our commitment to trans equality is unwavering. Our values drive who we are and as a trans woman I will be handing over the baton to Kezia confident in her steadfast commitment to trans and non-binary people and to working in partnership with other organisations to make progress for the whole LGBTQ+ community.”