Cocaine-plot gangster is refused Scots jail transfer
punished for my conviction. I’ve not seen my 20-year-old daughter for a year and my mum and dad for nearly two years. My dad is unwell and unable to travel.
“As soon as we were convicted, all four from Scotland put in cross-Border requests. The other three have been moved back to Scotland but I’m still in England. It’s not fair on my family.”
A letter sent to McAl lister earlier this month said authorities were aware of his plight but that coronavirus had impacted on his request. It said: “The Scottish Prison Service has advised that you qualify for a prison transfer”
But it added the SPS was
“experiencing dif f iculties in identifying a suitable place”.
The letter warned: “This might take some time due to the pandemic and ongoing prison population pressures.”
But McAllister added: “I put in my prison transfer request long before Covid struck. I just think it’s another excuse to punish me.
“There are plenty of jails in Scotland and, as long as it’s near my family in the central belt, I don’t mind where I’m taken to.”
McAllister’s brother, who didn’t want to be named for fear of jeopardising his career, said: “All the family have written to prison authorities begging to get him moved home. But our pleas have been ignored.”
A spokesman for prison charity the Howard League for Penal Reform said: “Evidence shows prisoners who maintain contact with their family through their sentence are less likely to reoffend.”
McAl lister was brought to justice after one of the Merseysidebased drug gang, Ronnie Bateman, turned supergrass against his cronies after they were targeted in Operation Manhattan.
McAl l ister pled gui lty to conspiracy to supply drugs and was jailed in December 2018.
His dad James said: “It’s been so hard to see my son. I’m 76 and have health issues. I’ve only been down to see him twice since he was jailed.”
The SPS said: “We cannot comment on individual prisoners. Coronavirus has seen prison transfers suspended temporarily.”