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Publish Isla Bryson case review in full, Scottish Government urged

The rapist was initially housed in a women’s-only prison before being moved to the male estate.

Craig Paton
Friday 03 February 2023 16:58 GMT
Isla Bryson was convicted of rape while a man, and was initially housed in a women’s prison (PA)
Isla Bryson was convicted of rape while a man, and was initially housed in a women’s prison (PA) (PA Wire)

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The Scottish Government has been urged to publish the urgent review into the Isla Bryson case in full.

Bryson was last week convicted of raping two women while she was a man called Adam Graham and was initially housed in segregation in Cornton Vale prison near Stirling – the only all-female jail in Scotland – before being moved to the male estate.

The case caused public outcry, leading Scottish Justice Secretary Keith Brown to order an urgent case review.

The review is due to be completed on Friday, but it is understood it is unlikely any action will be taken immediately.

Scottish Conservative community safety spokesman Russell Findlay called for the review to be published immediately and in full “as soon as it is completed”.

He added: “The public have a right to know why and how a double rapist was ever allowed to set foot in a women’s prison.

“Nicola Sturgeon and Keith Brown can’t sit on this report and hope the controversy goes away.

“The SNP can’t delay this report for days or weeks until their political spin machine works out how to fix this mess.

“In the interests of full transparency – and lessons being learned – the Justice Secretary must publish this vital report immediately.”

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: “The Scottish Prison Service’s (SPS) urgent lessons learned review has been submitted to the chief executive of the SPS.

“As the Justice Secretary said to Parliament earlier this week, he will update the Criminal Justice Committee on the outcome next week.”

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