Give us the facts that could help save lives

A PSYCHOPATHIC killer is let out of jail on home leave and commits a brutal assault ahead of a parole hearing.

The family of his latest victim speak out to demand answers from prison bosses amid a growing political row.

Yet, seven months after the murderer is locked up again, we are no closer to understanding why such a dangerous thug was ever allowed out of his cell.

Robbie McIntosh, 32, had been convicted of a chillingly similar crime back in 2002, after he murdered a woman in a cannabis-fuelled attack.

In the summer of last year, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) granted him home leave, allowing him to launch a frenzied assault on grandmother Linda McDonald – bludgeoning her with a dumb-bell.

McIntosh was later given an Order for Lifelong Restriction – though he will be able to apply for parole in only five years.

The SPS will not disclose the findings of its ‘critical incident review’ – outlining the decision-making process that led to McIntosh’s release – for ‘data protection’ reasons.

The Mail fought a long Freedom Of Information battle to obtain the report and ultimately appealed to the Scottish Information Commissioner – who backed the SPS and refused publication.

Could there be a more vivid illustration of the profound imbalance in our criminal justice system – one that favours the rights of offenders over those of their victims?

As long as the SPS report remains a classified document, we can never know who was responsible for a decision that could have resulted in another murder.

It is another depressing example of a culture of secrecy that is utterly endemic in Scottish public life.

It is time data protection legislation was overhauled, so quangos can no longer make excuses for withholding information that could help to save lives.