Prisoners at Peterhead are to receive in-cell landline phones to replace their mobile handsets which were paid for by the Scottish Government.

New figures obtained by Scottish Conservative MSP Tess White show 373 mobile phones were confiscated at HMP Grampian between January last year and June 20 this year.

Throughout five weeks in April and May, 25 people appeared at Peterhead Sheriff Court charged with having an unauthorised sim inside their prison phone and in just one day, 13 were sentenced.

Ms White said it’s vital the same dangerous mistakes aren’t made with the new hard-wired devices

Handsets were originally given to inmates after Covid-19 forced prison authorities to stop visits from loved ones.

But when jail visits resumed, more phones were issued by the Scottish Government and some prisoners quickly found they could replace the SIM cards and use them for drug deals and other criminal activity.

The mobile phones were removed from the prison at the end of last month.

Now, Ms White, who has submitted written questions to the Scottish Government about the costings of the mobile phone and new landline schemes, said it’s vital the same dangerous mistakes aren’t made with the new hard-wired devices which were installed in cells this week.

Commenting on the situation, Scottish Conservative north-east MSP Tess White said: “Public safety has been put at serious risk since the SNP Government issued mobile phones to prisoners and these should have been taken away from their hands long before now.

“These supposedly secure handsets were hacked within hours of the prisoners receiving them and have continued to be abused on an industrial scale to commission serious crimes across the north-east.

“It’s vital these dangerous mistakes aren’t repeated and proper security measures are installed on these landlines to ensure they aren’t used by potential drug dealers to run their businesses from their cells at HMP Grampian.

“Given the huge pressures placed on prisons like Peterhead and its staff, justice secretary Angela Constance must tell the public what she is doing to make sure these in-cell phones aren’t exploited in the same way the mobile phones have been.

“The public also deserve to know the cost implications of both schemes which is why I have submitted written questions to the Scottish Government asking for these figures.”

Scottish Government urged to ensure new landlines in prison cells at HMP Grampian are tamper proof