TAYSIDE PRISONERS who have been granted compensation by the Scottish Government for having been forced to “slop out” while in prison are using their payments to buy drugs, it has been claimed.

A Courier source said increasingly police are finding that criminals in possession of large sums of cash, particularly those arrested on drugs offences, are telling officers the cash is their “compie come through.”

The court source said, “The police are getting really fed up with it. Quite a lot of criminals who are found in possession of drugs are saying they bought them with their compensation money.

“Some of them have been found with wads of cash on them and they’re saying it’s their compensation money.

“We see people in the court all the time on drugs charges and more and more of them are being found with money on them and saying its money they got from slopping out.

Detective Inspector Iain Wales, head of Tayside Police drugs squad, said a person being interviewed last week was in possession of a large amount of cash and said it was his compensation.

“I am aware of that, but it’s one of those things, we’re not sure if it’s someone trying to legitimise the fact they’ve got so much cash on them or whether it is drugs money in most cases.

“It is a legitimate payment to former inmates and I have no beef with that. What I do have a beef with though is if they are using that cash for that purpose.”

The total bill for slopping out in Scotland’s jails is estimated to have cost the prison service up to £58 million.

The compensation issue arose after a prisoner successfully challenged the slopping out process under human rights law in 2004.

About 1400 serving and former prisoners have since launched claims after Barlinnie inmate Robert Napier won a ruling that his human rights had been breached.

He was awarded £2000 for the effect of slopping out and prison conditions on his health.

Although the award in the Napier case was just £2000, the court action itself cost £1.5 million.

The average payment to prisoners has been put at around £2000, with some prisoners receiving as much as £2500.