MSP calls for ban on jail votes

THE Scottish Government was last night urged to ban prisoners from voting, should it succeed in prising election powers from Westminster.

The Press and Journal revealed yesterday that 224 of Scotland’s worst sex offenders had tried to have their names added to the electoral register. It is understood the men, who are all serving sentences at Peterhead Prison, are being led by “limbs in the loch” killer William Beggs, who is taking his fight to the Court of Session.

Grampian Valuation Joint Board has rejected all the applications but 65 prisoners, including Beggs, have launched a legal challenge against the decision.

Britain is one of only nine European countries where convicted prisoners are banned from voting. However, the law is set to change in the UK following a court ruling in Strasbourg which decided the ban was a violation of their human rights.

Last night, north-east Conservative MSP Nanette Milne called for the Scottish Government — which wants to be given the power to run its own elections — to clarify its position on the issue.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The European Court of Human Rights ruled that a statutory bar on voting by convicted prisoners was a breach of the European Convention of Human Rights. This means that the UK Government must therefore act in a way that is compatible with its obligations under ECHR.

“However, all EU countries are bound by such obligations — therefore, even if rules around the franchise were devolved to the Scottish Government, we would still be required to abide by EU law.”