Governor’s warning over state of Barlinnie Prison
The Governor of Barlinnie Prison in Glasgow has warned that the 140-year-old jail is at risk of “catastrophic failure”.
Michael Stoney told BBC Scotland’s Drivetime programme: “This prison can’t last that much longer. The infrastructure fails consistently.”
A new replacement prison was meant to open in 2025, but it has been delayed until 2027.
Barlinnie is now operating at 140 per cent capacity with nearly 1,400 prisoners, despite being designed to hold 987.
Mr Stoney told the BBC: “A lot of my time is just trying to keep the prison functional. If dates like building and completion stretch further, then the risk gets greater year on year.”