QUESTIONS: SWINNEY AND FINDLAY GO TOE TO TOE OVER EARLY RELEASE FOR PRISONERS

By Bill Heaney

Russell Findlay has in his time as a foot-in-the-door tabloid journalist put the frighteners on not a few hard men who ended up in jail after being exposed by him.

By contrast, John Swinney is a shy, retiring, self-effacing sort of guy who showed at First Minister’s Questions in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday that he is far from feart of the new Tory leader – or any other leader for that matter.

And that he will give as good as he gets in the Holyrood chamber as long as the SNP hold on to power there, even though that might not be as long as he thinks it might.

Prison seemed an appropriate place to start then, since politicians are forever getting off the hook.

Russell Findlay asked Mr Swinney: “Just weeks ago, the Scottish National Party released almost 500 prisoners early, before they had served their sentences. In 98 per cent of those cases, the victims were not even told. The Government is now considering the early release of some of the most dangerous criminals in Scotland. Does John Swinney believe that that is the right thing to do?”

First Minister John Swinney, inside Barlinnie Prison and the Tory leader Russell Findlay.

The First Minister countered that the early release scheme had gone before parliament and was approved by parliament, which in a democracy includes the Conservatives.

He told MSPs: “I understand the seriousness of the issues that Mr Findlay has put to me. We have to address the rising prison population in a sustainable and effective way. The Government took measures that were explained fully to the Parliament, and they took place only once we had parliamentary consent to those steps.

“Fundamentally, there is a difficulty about the rise in the prison population. This morning, the prison population is sitting at 8,322, which is a very high level. Ministers are concerned about the wellbeing of prison officer staff and prisoners as a consequence of the level of congestion in our prisons. We have to act and the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs will give a statement to the Parliament this afternoon on those issues.”

Russell Findlay, who by the smile on his face is relishing his new job, said: “In 2015, John Swinney’s Government ended the automatic early release of prisoners serving sentences of more than four years.

“My party voted against it, because we believed that the measure should have gone further by applying to both short-term and long-term prisoners.

“The SNP believed the same—at one stage, at least. Nicola Sturgeon even said: ‘Our objective remains to end the policy of automatic early release completely’.

“John Swinney might be even softer on crime than Nicola Sturgeon. Victims groups feel that killers, rapists, domestic abusers, drug dealers and child abusers could be freed early. Does the First Minister believe that such prisoners should be let out without any consideration for victims or public safety?”

“We must take the appropriate measures to ensure the sustainability of our prison system. The reality that we face in the prison system today is not one that we are alone in facing, because it has been faced in other parts of the United Kingdom.

“Significant action was taken by Mr Findlay’s colleagues in Government before the general election—and has been taken by the new Labour Government after the general election—to address the fact that there is significant pressure on prison populations throughout the United Kingdom.

“We will take a responsible approach, which will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny, and we will always take into account the perspectives and views of victims and address the concerns that they legitimately have about these difficult issues.”

However, Russell Findlay put his foot in the First Minister’s metaphorical door. He told him: “The reason why the prisons are in such a catastrophic state is entirely down to this SNP Government.

“Let us take a look at the kind of criminals that we could be talking about if a new form of SNP early release is announced today.

“Here are some examples of recent sentences that have been imposed by Scottish courts: seven years for raping a 10-year-old girl; nine years for stabbing a man to death; and five years for sexually abusing four young boys.

“All those criminals, and many others like them, could be let out early. People in the real world cannot get their heads around criminals not serving the sentences that they are given. Would the First Minister ever find it acceptable to let those kinds of criminals out early?”

The First Minister was having none of it. He said: “The issues that Mr Findlay raises are serious. It is not for me to question the sentencing policy that is independently decided by the judiciary. If I was to do that, I would be breaching my constitutional role as First Minister, in which I must respect—this was part of the oath of office that I took when I became First Minister—the distinction between my responsibilities as the leader of an executive Government, and the independent role of the judiciary.

“If I were to trespass into that area, I would fundamentally compromise the independence of the judiciary. That might be what Mr Findlay wants to do, but it is certainly not what this First Minister, who respects the rule of law and the oath of office that he took, is going to do.

“Mr Findlay has suggested that, somehow, we are experiencing a lack of action on justice. Our prisons are absolutely bursting at the seams.

“Things have been shouted at me, so let me clarify that point. Scotland imprisons more offenders per head of population than most other European countries. As a Government, we already invest heavily in alternatives to custody to make sure that we have a sustainable prison estate.

“Today, we must ensure that the prison officers who run our prisons and our prisoners, to whom we have legal obligations, are working and living in a safe and stable environment. That will underpin the Government’s actions.”

Russell Findlay described the First Minister’s reaction as “unbelievable. What a stunning lack of self-awareness. John Swinney talks about respecting judicial independence, but by releasing 500 prisoners early, he trashed judicial independence.

“Over the past 17 years, the SNP has relentlessly weakened justice in Scotland. Criminals already get away with inflicting pain and misery on innocent people due to the SNP’s failure to tackle crime. Victims and the law-abiding majority are paying the price.

“For far too long, the SNP’s justice system has sided with criminals and not with victims. We have the police issuing a slap on the wrist for serious crimes, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service diverting criminals from prosecution and prisoners not serving sentences that have been imposed by the independent judiciary.

“There is a stunning lack of common sense, and it is leaving people feeling that this Parliament does not represent them. Why has the Government stacked the entire justice system against crime victims?”

The First Minister replied: “That is patently untrue. Over the past decade, the average length of prison sentences has increased by 32 per cent. That statistic alone demonstrates that Russell Findlay is putting complete nonsense to me at First Minister’s question time.

“Ninety-eight per cent of all those who were convicted of rape and attempted rape between 2019 and 2022 received a custodial sentence. That is another fact that refutes what Russell Findlay has put to me today.

“We have an obligation to ensure that we run a stable and safe prison system. Given the level of the prison population that we have just now, it is a challenge for ministers to fulfil our obligations in that respect, so ministers must act.

“The Government will take the steps that have to be taken, but it will require the consent of Parliament to do so.”