A north-east superjail has one of the worst staff disciplinary records in the country, it can be revealed.
Official figures show workers at HMP Grampian were punished on 22 occasions by prison bosses over the four years from 2014,
That compares with 29 disciplinary actions at HMP Edinburgh over the same period, 20 at HMP Shotts and nine at HMP Inverness.
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The figures, obtained by the Press and Journal through a Freedom of Information request, show that nationwide there were 158 incidents over the same time period.
Sixty-three of those for are for what the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) has branded “inappropriate or unacceptable behaviour”.
And, in total, 14 members of prison staff have been disciplined for assaulting inmates and 23 breached security rules.
As a result, 13 have been sacked and 42 more handed “final warnings”.
A spokeswoman for the SPS said revealing where those staff were based – or the nature of their failings – would be a breach of data protection laws.
Critics of the £140million prison have blamed its lack of discipline on its “remote location” and “challenging environment”.
Labour MSP Lewis Macdonald said: “Prison staff do an often difficult job on behalf of us all, and they deserve our support.
“Prison staff at HMP Grampian are often working under pressure, and at what is for many people a relatively remote location.
“That may be part of the reason why there are higher levels of disciplinary incidents at the jail in Peterhead than in most other Scottish prisons, although ultimately all of us are responsible for our own actions at work just as we are in the rest of our lives.”
Shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr added bosses at HMP Grampian would be “concerned” by the figures.
He said: “Prison work requires great discipline, working with some of the most testing conditions and characters life can throw at you.
“Some HMP Grampian staff no doubt feel under great strain, working long hours in a challenging environment.
“But that makes it all the more important to maintain standards and ensure misconduct is dealt with appropriately.
“I’m sure the governor will be concerned at these figures and will take steps to understand if there is any common thread to the misconduct, and what is required to reduce it going forward.”
A SPS spokeswoman said: “The vast majority of our staff work to the highest standard at all times.
“We have robust and fair procedures in place to ensure that we consistently achieve and maintain the highest professional standards.”
HMP Grampian, which has 235 prison officers looking after 424 inmates, also has high staff turnover.
Last year, we uncovered figures showing that 126 members had quit since the facility opened in 2014, the highest rate in Scotland.
