THE prison service in Scotland should be radically reformed, the Scottish Liberal Democrats claim, after their Freedom of Information request showed two prisoners have escaped in the last five years,

with another 34 incidents where prisoners have been released or detained in error.

Staff at HMP Grampian also reported that they were “run ragged” in previously unpublished research into conditions at the prison, recently acquired by the party.

The LibDem justice spokesman Liam McArthur MSP said: “While these incidents are few and far between they represent a threat to the wellbeing of prisoners and a risk to the public…it is time for radical and ambitious reform which reduces the pressure on the prison service, reduces reoffending and enables SPS (Scottish Prison Service) staff to focus on engaging more with serious long-term offenders.”

A spokeswoman for the SPS said: “Every year approximately 140,000 escorts take place, 30,000 warrants are processed and 10,000 convicted prisoners released. Whilst we are never complacent the statistics show these errors represent a very small proportion and all errors are reviewed internally.”

Meanwhile an international study has found there is no clear link between prison suicides and overcrowding in jails in England and Wales.

The research, published in the Lancet Psychiatry journal, analysed almost 4,000 prison suicides in 24 countries. It found deaths between 2011 and 2014 were highest in the countries with the lowest rates of imprisonment.