Total of six prisoners in Scotland now thought to have succumbed

A total of six prisoners in Scotland have died with suspected coronavirus.

As well as Greenshields and Drysdale, sex offender Gordon Pinkerton, 75, was serving his sentence at HMP Dumfries, while John Dargacz, 54, was a prisoner at HMP Low Moss.

Serial sex offender John Angus, 66, held at HMP Edinburgh, was the first Scottish prisoner to die after contracting the virus.

After his death was announced on April 10, murderer Francis Mccarthy, 59, serving a life sentence at HMP Low Moss, became the second prisoner whose death was linked to Covid-19.

Separately, two more prisoners have died in custody this month.

William Price, 78, who was on remand at HMP Kilmarnock, is said to have died from natural causes.

James Connor, 55, an inmate at HMP Grampian, also died earlier in May.

One of a gang convicted at the High Court in Glasgow of killing Gary Clampett, 39, in a vicious street attack in Fraserburgh, in 2017, the SPS said his cause of death is being looked into.

As of Thursday, the latest figures available, there were 21 prisoners selfisolating in six locations across Scotland, of which two have tested positive for

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The reduced prison population is making social isolation easier to achieve. SCOTTISH PRISON SERVICE

Covid-19. A total of 143 prisoners have now been released early by the SPS, 12 from Perth, as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

All were short-term prisoners, with less than three months of their sentence to be served.

It is expected a further 20 prisoners could be released over the weekend.

Scotland’s prison population has decreased by more than 1,000 since the lockdown began and on Thursday was below 7,000 for the first time since 2008.

An SPS spokesman said: “This is partly because of the reduced numbers coming into prison from the courts, which are affected by lockdown measures, as well as the early release programme.

“The reduced prison population is making social isolation easier to achieve.

“But as numbers move up in the future, keeping prisoners separate could become more problematic.”

The contagion is also having an impact on staffing in Scotland’s prisons.

On May 8, 560 staff, 12.6% of the total workforce, were absent from their work for reasons related Covid-19. About 50 were reporting to be symptomatic.

The prison service has introduced a number of measures to help reduce the spread of Covid-19, including suspending all prison visits

Left: Perth Prison, where a second inmate has died in as many days with suspected Covid-19. Above: Nicola Sturgeon promised to take whatever steps are necessary to protect residents and staff in the care home sector.