A SCOTTISH trade union official has called out the BBC for publishing an “unclear” headline on a story concerning the incorrect release of 37 prisoners.
Earlier this week it was revealed that 37 people had been released from jail in error as part of an emergency scheme to try and prevent prison overcrowding.
It’s understood that some offenders, which include stalkers and domestic abusers, were not flagged as being exempt from the scheme and were therefore released early.
However, the Scottish secretary of the Professional Trades Union for Prison, Correctional and Secure Psychiatric Workers (POA) in Scotland, Phil Fairlie, said that none of the releases relate to prisons in Scotland.
Despite this, BBC Scotland's X/Twitter account shared an article with the headline: ‘Prisons: Inmates with restraining orders wrongly let out early’.
In a bid to dispel any concern that the releases may have occurred in Scotland, Fairlie tweeted:
Given the unclear headline here & elsewhere in Scottish media, as the Scottish Secretaryfor the @POAUnion in Scotland, I feel I should point out none of these release errors are here in Scotland and no @scottishprisons prison is related to this story at all. https://t.co/oA5Q6wzsrP
— Phil Fairlie (@FairliePhil) September 26, 2024
“Given the unclear headline here & elsewhere in Scottish media, as the Scottish Secretary for the @POAUnion in Scotland, I feel I should point out none of these release errors are here in Scotland and no @scottishprisons prison is related to this story at all.”
On Thursday, Keir Starmer said that all but one of the prisoners had since been returned to custody.
However, he described the error as “deeply regrettable”.
The BBC has been contacted for comment.
