The Scottish Conservatives have launched a public campaign urging the SNP Scottish Government to abandon plans that would allow long-term prisoners to be released after serving only two-thirds of their sentence. The Tories argue the proposals are dangerous, would put public safety "at grave risk", and leave victims of crime "terrified" at the prospect of violent and sexual offenders being freed early.

The party claims the plans were deliberately released on the final day of the Scottish Parliament term to avoid scrutiny before the summer recess. Justice spokesman Stephen Kerr accused the SNP of "opening the gates early" for violent and sexual offenders as a response to failing to provide sufficient prison capacity in Scotland, and called on members of the public to back the campaign demanding ministers scrap the proposal.