West Lothian crime: Call for better protection for prison staff after car fires at Addiewell jail

Prison staff “deserve greater protection” from organised criminals, according to a Tory MSP after a spate of fire attacks on cars parked outside Scottish jails.

Six vehicles were destroyed in an attack at Addiewell prison in January. And research by Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary Russell Findlay found there have been eight deliberate vehicle fires over the past five years, with a ninth at HMP Perth last month. Mr Findlay says that the “cowardly” attacks are almost certainly ordered by organised crime groups to intimidate staff.

He has called on SNP Justice Secretary Angela Constance, whose Almond Valley constituency includes Addiewell prison, to ensure that Police Scotland and the Scottish Prison Service have sufficient resources to bring to justice those responsible.

Mr Findlay said: “Dedicated prison staff dealing with society’s most dangerous people should not have to suffer such cowardly acts of intimidation. We know that organised crime groups use violence, threats and blackmail to smuggle drugs and other contraband into prisons. But more must be done to teach criminals that they can’t get away with terrorising staff.

“I’m calling on the justice secretary to ensure that sufficient resources are in place so that every single one of these attacks is subject to the fullest possible investigation and prosecution. Prison staff should be confident that they have the protection and support they deserve. If any other occupation suffered so many targeted attacks, there would be an understandable uproar — so, why should they be expected to put up with it?”

In the Addiewell incident, police launched an inquiry after receiving reports of six cars on fire in the car park at the privately-run prison at around 10.15pm on Saturday January 7. Firefighters attended and put the fire out. Nobody was injured in the incident.

In a previous attack at Addiewell in 2016, four men in a blue Range Rover pulled into the prison car park, three of them wearing balaclavas jumped out and proceeded to damage or set alight five parked cars before making off in the stolen Range Rover, which was also later set on fire.

A written paliamentary answer from Ms Constance to Mr Fiindlay shows eight cases of fire raising on vehicles at Scottish prisons over the past five years – one each in 2018/19 and 2019/20, four in 2020/21 and one each in 2021/22 and 2022/23. The attacks include two vehicles at HMP Barlinnie in January 2020 with another attack at the same prison in March 2021 and other attacks at HMP Shotts in November 2020 and HMP Low Moss in the same month. In addition, a ninth attack took place at HMP Perth in July 2023.