First Minister John Swinney refused to commit to preventing men accused or convicted of violence against women from being granted bail or released early from prison, despite pledging "personal leadership" on tackling violence against women and girls. He was challenged at First Minister's Questions by opposition parties following the recent deaths of Stacy Hunter and Samantha Lee, both killed by their partners or exes, with Swinney acknowledging the summer's events in Scotland had been "appalling" but stopping short of backing specific policy demands.

Conservative leader Russell Findlay called for the reinstatement of a statutory presumption against bail for those accused of violent, sexual or domestic abuse offences, repealed in 2023, and urged Swinney to scrap automatic early release for such offenders. Hunter, 35, was killed by her estranged husband weeks after he was bailed on strangulation charges, while Lee, 54, was killed with a claw hammer by a partner who was subject to a non-approach order. Labour's Jackie Baillie pressed for a timetable on GPS tracking of bail offenders, citing further cases including the 2021 murder of Claire Inglis, while Swinney said pilot GPS tracking work was under way and he wanted progress "as quickly as possible."