Decision Report 201600130

Summary

Mr C was being escorted by an agency that provides custody escorting services on behalf of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) between prison and court on several occasions during his trial. He complained that an officer from the agency shared information and comment about him and his case with another officer and that that officer then passed that on to prisoners. He said the prisoners then taunted him with the information and comment, which they said they had got from the agency.

The agency said that, in speaking to staff about the complaint, staff had been very clear that they had not divulged information as alleged. Their account differed from Mr C's, and in the circumstances it was not possible to establish the facts about who said what, if anything. For security reasons involving the nature of Mr C's offences, the agency had not considered it appropriate to interview other prisoners about the events in question, and we accepted their reasons.