John Swinney to meet with families of young Scots prison death victims

Katie Allan and William Lindsay
-Credit:Reach Publishing Services Limited


The grieving families of two young people whose deaths in prison were avoidable are to have a meeting with the First Minister to discuss the case.

A sheriff found last week that the Scottish Prison Service could have taken steps which could have prevented both Katie Allan, 21, and William Brown, 16, from taking their own lives in cells at Polmont Young Offenders Institution (YOI) in 2018.

Now, as “improvements” are promised in the system, John Swinney has agreed to meet with their relatives alongside Justice Secretary Angela Constance on Thursday.

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Glasgow University student Katie was found dead on June 4 while serving a 16-month sentence for drink-driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

William, also known as William Lindsay, who had made repeated attempts on his life in 2017 which were detailed in reports provided on his admission to Polmont, was found dead in his cell on October 7 - three days after he was remanded due to a lack space in a children’s secure unit.

The families' solicitor Aamer Anwar with Katie's mum Linda and William's brother, John. -Credit:DAILY RECORD
The families' solicitor Aamer Anwar with Katie's mum Linda and William's brother, John. -Credit:DAILY RECORD

The families’ solicitor Aamer Anwar said: “”Katie had a mere number of days left to serve before being eligible for release, however was unable to cope with the stress, bullying and suffering she endured during her time at Polmont, and tragically ended her life.

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“William was an obvious high suicide risk, yet despite a known history of several suicide attempts and being in and out of care since the age of three, the absence of a space in a children’s secure unit meant he was remanded to Polmont. The desperate cries of a child went unheard, and on October 7, 2018 William’s body was found in his cell, after he had taken his own life.

“The families are to meet with the First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs tomorrow, January 23, at 11am in the Scottish Parliament.

“Following this meeting, the Cabinet Secretary intends to make a statement to Parliament to update on the measures taken since the deaths of Katie and William and set out the Government’s commitment to make further improvements.”

After a Fatal Accident Inquiry, a sheriff found there were reasonable precautions by which both deaths might realistically have been avoided, and that systemic failures contributed to them, in his determination last week following a fatal accident inquiry into their deaths.

Constance is expected to make a statement in Holyrood after the meeting where she will outline the steps taken to improve conditions in Scottish prisons.

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At a press conference last week, Anwar said the two youths were given a “death sentence” and some of those involved “should be facing criminal prosecution”.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "The First Minister and Justice Secretary have invited the families to meet with them ahead of the Justice Secretary providing a statement to Parliament, and we are pleased they have accepted."