All Castle Huntly and Noranside prisoners return after festive leave

All of the prisoners who were given leave to spend the festive season at home with their families have returned to Tayside’s two open jails, the Scottish Prison Service has said.

A total of 218 prisoners from Castle Huntly, near Dundee, and Noranside, near Forfar, were allowed home for Christmas under the release scheme.

They enjoyed a week-long break before returning as scheduled to prison just before the New Year.

Prison chiefs insisted only those who pass strict risk assessments were considered for home leave, while those who did not pass the test or did not want to go home stayed at Noranside.

There were 61 inmates who remained at Noranside for Christmas, where they had turkey and all the trimmings.

An SPS spokesman said, “Home leave on licence has been a feature of the open estate for decades.

“It is a measure of the acceptance of responsibility and an illustration that prisoners understand its significance that everyone given home leave this festive season returned to the open estate.”

The open estate has been under severe scrutiny in recent months after high-profile cases of absconding.