Victim’s anger as fantasist who fed her laxatives is freed

free hostages from the Iranian embassy in 1980.

He also said he owned a factory worth millions.

After Elizabeth got him to confess to poisoning her, he claimed he had cancer to stop her going to the police.

She recorded him, begging her: “Please, please, please do not get the police involved.”

Scottish Conservative spokesman Liam Kerr said: “Victims of serious crime and their families will feel rightly aggrieved when the perpetrator fails to serve even half of their sentence. It’s little wonder the public think Scotland’s justice has a soft touch after 11 years of the SNP in power.”

Elizabeth fell in love with Smith and married him in January 2015 unaware he was a liar who was poisoning her.

He told her his first wife was a ballerina who died in a car crash, claimed he was rich and owned a factory supplying top secret parts to the Ministry of Defence.

She told the Record: “I just thought I had met the perfect man.

“But he poisoned me and stole thousands from me. He made me so ill. I was never away from the doctor and was admitted to hospital but no one knew what was wrong.

“I loved him with every bone in my body. Now I hate him. He told me so many lies.”

Smith’s web of deceit unravelled when he staged a break-in at their home and Elizabeth worked out he was lying to her.

Smith pleaded guilty to culpable and reckless conduct at Ayr Sheriff Court in February last year and was later jailed by Sheriff John Montgomery.

The sheriff told Smith he had caused “physical and mental anguish” to his victim and was guilty of a “prolonged and evil course of criminal conduct”.

A spokeswoman for the Parole Board of Scotland said: “The board have no role in deciding whether to release prisoners who receive a determinate sentence of less than four years.”