Payouts to prisoners ‘beyond belief’

A Perth Prison inmate was “compensated” for a lost banana and another given £90 for a broken phone in moves labelled “beyond belief” by a politician.

Alexander Stewart, Scottish Conservative MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, claimed many hard-working people will be angry when they see the figures released by the Scottish Prison Service (SPS).

They reveal the prison authorities paid out £90 for a mobile phone screen repair at Perth Prison in the 2013-14 financial year and £19.99 for a shaver.

Items such as phones in the possession of criminals when they are incarcerated are held in storage for inmates and may have been damaged during this time, rather than in the prison itself.

The SPS also paid £44 to a prisoner in Perth for missing tobacco, £35 to an inmate for a damaged watch and £7.50 for vests, bedding and a T-shirt, during the 2014-15 financial year.

Mr Stewart said: “These are criminals who have been incarcerated for crimes but when something goes wrong they have the temerity to claim for it – it’s beyond belief. This is part of the ‘blame it, claim it’ culture.”

A spokesperson for the SPS said: “The SPS recognises that where there is sufficient evidence that the belongings of those in our care have been lost or damaged, that appropriate compensation should be paid.”