'Hawk' hands himself in after week on run

Published on Monday 25 May 2009 22:11

A DANGEROUS prisoner has handed himself in following seven days on the run from an open prison, bringing a nationwide manhunt to an end.

Brian Martin, nicknamed "The Hawk", walked into Kinross police station yesterday.

The convicted gunman's disappearance had threatened to cost Kenny MacAskill his Cabinet post as opposition politicians demanded the justice secretary's head.

This latest prisoner to abscond from Castle Huntly prison near Dundee put the open jail once again at the centre of controversy, two years after an inmate went on the run and raped a teenage girl.

Mr MacAskill is tomorrow expected to issue a parliamentary statement on the episode, which has triggered calls for a fresh review of open prisons.

Martin had been serving ten years for firing a gun inside a Fife house, in a dispute over a car. He escaped for two weeks after the offence in 2005. At the time, the 51-year-old, from Ballingry, Fife, was out on licence from a 12-year sentence for assault, robbery and firearms offences.

Every port in the UK was put on alert after Martin absconded on 18 May. It was thought he may have been hiding with relatives or friends in Fife, but police had gleaned few clues.

On Wednesday they made a direct plea to Martin to hand himself in. The tactic appeared to work, and Martin gave himself up around 2:30pm yesterday.

Tayside Police Detective Chief Inspector Bruce Kerr, who led the hunt, thanked the public for their help.

Martin is expected to appear at Perth Sheriff Court today.

Mr MacAskill last night praised police for their handling of the case. "Our police officers do an excellent job on behalf of the law-abiding public, and they have demonstrated that once again in the professional way they closed the net on Brian Martin," he said.

Opposition politicians expressed relief that Martin had been caught – but insisted Mr MacAskill should be held to account for the decision to send him to the open prison in the first place.

Richard Baker, Labour's justice spokesman, said: "Time is running out for Kenny MacAskill, who has shown he is not up to the job of protecting the public. Quite frankly, it would be in everybody's interests if he apologised and got out."

Mr MacAskill defended his record on open prisons, pointing out that numbers of inmates absconding had fallen since the SNP came to power.

"However, no-one disputes that in any system there will be failures of assessment, and there will be an investigation into the circumstances of this case," he said.