Prison service pays £1m in compensation

MORE than £1 million of taxpayers money has been spent as a result of compensation cases raised by prisoners.

The figure, which was revealed in a response to a Scottish Parliament question, covers cases dating back to May 2007, but does not include some of the big compensation cases relating to slopping out which saw the Scottish Prison Service pay out 11m prior to 2007.

The prisoners also received 376,014 in legal aid to bring the cases to court. A further 466,567 was spent on defence costs and 297,500 was ultimately paid out in compensation.

Of 2,080 actions raised, the SPS paid out in 190 cases.