Tories want to send prisoners to foreign jails to ease overcrowding
Findlay says his party would draw up legislation to allow Scotland to send criminals to prisons in other countries to serve the rest of their sentences
The Scottish Conservatives have suggested sending prisoners to jails overseas to help with overcrowding.
Leader Russell Findlay says his party would draw up legislation to allow Scotland to send criminals to prisons in other countries to serve the rest of their sentences, rather than freeing them early.
He said it would spell the end of the SNP’s “reckless” early-release schemes introduced in response to prison overcrowding.
The SNP said the “fanciful” plans showed the Tories were “just not serious” because they weren’t even costed.
The proposals would be modelled on Sweden’s agreement with Estonia, which has allowed them to rent 600 prison places over a five-year period.
Scotland’s prison estate is currently bulging, which has caused the Scottish Government to order several tranches of early releases.
Mr Findlay said: “Our common-sense plans would put an end to the SNP’s reckless early-release schemes.
“Nationalist ministers have thrown open the prison gates and allowed thousands of inmates back into the community too soon, putting public safety at risk and making a mockery of judicial sentencing.
“Our legislation would let us send inmates to foreign jails to serve the remainder of their sentences in full, at the same time as we addressed the SNP’s abject failure to expand prison capacity in Scotland.
“On May 7th, you can stop an SNP majority and their relentless weakening of Scotland’s justice system by voting Scottish Conservative on your peach ballot paper.”
Last month Scotland’s prison population reached a new record high despite the emergency early release of more than 500 convicted criminals.
Some 8,452 people were being held in the country’s jails in the middle of last month.
Since November, hundreds of prisoners with sentences of less than four years have been freed early to ease overcrowding.
The Scottish Parliament backed plans to reduce the automatic release point for short-term prisoners from 40 per cent to 30 per cent of their sentence. The SNP said it could reduce the prison population by more than 300.
The changes do not apply to those convicted of domestic abuse or sexual offences.
The prison population size had hit its most recent record high of 8,430 in October. The previous record was 8,420 in 2012.
Scotland and the rest of the UK have some of the highest incarceration rates in Europe.
Last year the Scottish Government cut the point of release for eligible short-term prisoners from 50 per cent to 40 per cent of their sentences.
Under the previous schemes from 2024 and 2025, almost 800 prisoners were freed.
This has not stopped Scotland’s prison population from rising with more people being locked up.
The Tories proposed sending prisoners down south overseas while they were in the UK Government.
After the plan to send prisoners to Estonia was announced in Sweden last summer, it is set to send the first prisoners to the Baltic country in the second half of this year.
The Belgian Government had also been interested in renting out prison places in Estonia, but the North European country’s justice minister has said there are currently no plans.
Estonia currently has a prison occupancy rate of around 60 per cent.
But they were blasted by the Prison Reform Trust as a “very expensive and a very complicated” way of increasing prison capacity.
An SNP spokesperson said: “Action on prison overcrowding is a real issue and requires serious solutions - not bizarre plans from a Tory party who know they will never need to implement them.
“The Tories seemingly won't even tell us how much this fanciful plan would cost - and where they would find the money given they want to reduce public spending by cutting taxes on the rich. They are just not serious.”
It comes as Scottish Labour promised it would block any Glasgow congestion charge and “stop the SNP’s war on motorists”.
The SNP-run Glasgow City Council is considering bringing in a charge for motorists who live outside the city.
This would hit people travelling into Glasgow from across the west of Scotland, including Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, East Renfrewshire and East Dunbartonshire.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has warned that it would punish people for going to work, taking children to childcare, attending hospital appointments, or spending time with family and friends.
Glasgow Chamber of Commerce is staunchly against the proposal because it said a charge would lead to businesses moving out of the city.
Labour also opposes a proposed toll for out of city residents to use the Clyde Tunnel.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: “The SNP has underfunded Glasgow for years and now they want working people to pay the price for their failure.
“This charge would punish motorists for going to work, seeing family, meeting friends, or getting to vital services like hospital appointments.
“That is not fair, and Scottish Labour would block it.
“If the SNP and Greens were serious about tackling congestion, they would fix the mess they have made of buses and trains instead of continuing their war on motorists.
“I’m standing to fix the mess, get the basics right and build a better future for Glasgow and for Scotland.
“That means standing up for working people, standing up for motorists, and blocking charges like this.
“On May 7, vote Scottish Labour on both votes to block this charge and deliver the change Glasgow needs.”
SNP candidate for Glasgow Central and former MP Alison Thewliss:“The only people conducting a war on motorists is the Labour UK Government who are refusing to lift a finger to cut fuel duty - if the Labour Party were really bothered about the cost of commuting they’d take action on spiralling prices at the pump.
“Glasgow is the economic powerhouse of Scotland, yet Anas Sarwar’s desperate campaign does nothing but talk Glasgow down.
“John Swinney’s strong and experienced leadership stands in sharp contrast to anything else on offer from the Westminster parties who have nothing to offer the people of Scotland.”
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