• Text size
  • Send this article to a friend
  • Print this article

SNP says scrapping automatic early prison release a priority

The Scottish Government is to step up moves to abolish the controversial system of ­automatic early release from prison.

It comes after convicted paedophile Thomas Smith was jailed for 32 years for the rape and murder last year of an 11-year-old schoolgirl and her mother in Ayrshire.