GRAY AND GOLDIE CHALLENGED ON PRISON ABSCONDS AFTER REPORT VINDICATES FIRST MINISTER APOLOGY DEMANDED OVER FALSE ACCUSATIONS

GRAY AND GOLDIE CHALLENGED ON PRISON ABSCONDS AFTER REPORT VINDICATES FIRST MINISTER
APOLOGY DEMANDED OVER FALSE ACCUSATIONS

SNP MSP Angela Constance today called on Iain Gray and Annabel Goldie to accept in full the findings of Lord Steel and George Reid, who have ruled that the First Minister acted entirely properly in revealing information on the number of absconds from Scottish prisons.

In their report Lord Steel and George Reid state in response to a politically motivated complaint from Iain Gray that:
“The Panel concludes that the First Minister during FMQs on 28 May 2009 did not breach section 1.1(d) of the Code.”
And in relation to releasing information as to when a prisoner absconds they ruled that:
“The First Minster adhered to established protocol and any interference or approach by him regarding the timing of provision of any information on an abscond would have been inappropriate.”

The two former Presiding Officers criticised the use of the complaints procedure by opposition politicians as “a kind of long-stop to Points of Order to the Presiding Officer.”

Ms Constance, a member of the Scottish Parliament's Justice Committee said:
“Iain Gray and Annabel Goldie must accept these findings in full and apologise for their false accusations.
“Every time opposition leaders make these politically motivated complaints, they have been found to be entirely in the wrong.

“Under the last year of Tory rule, 98 prisoners absconded from the open estate, and under Labour 79 prisoners absconded in their last year in office in Scotland. Under an SNP Government and the tighter procedures introduced by Kenny MacAskill, these figures have dropped to 16 in 2008/09 – in other words, the rate of absconding was five times higher under Labour and eight times higher under the Tories.

“Instead of political complaints that backfire on them, opposition leaders should start acting responsibly and accept the real improvement that has taken place under the SNP Government – and Iain Gray and Annabel Goldie should start by apologising for their behaviour on this issue.”