We are fed up of apologies, say family of young woman who died in Polmont YOI

The parents of a young woman who took her own life in Polmont Young Offenders Institution have said they are “fed up” of apologies, ahead of a meeting at Holyrood with Justice Secretary Angela Constance.

Katie Allan, 21, and William Brown, 16, died within months of each other in 2018 at Polmont, which is run by the Scottish Prison Service (SPS).

Ms Allan, a student at Glasgow University, was found dead on June 4 while serving a 16-month sentence for drink-driving and causing serious injury.

William – also known as William Lindsay – who had made repeated attempts on his life in 2017 which were detailed in reports provided on his admission, was found dead in his cell on October 7, three days after he was remanded due to a lack of space in a children’s unit.

We're fed up with sorrys and apologies etc for the deaths of Katie and William

A fatal accident inquiry (FAI) was held last year at Falkirk Sheriff Court into their deaths and 25 recommendations were made by Sheriff Simon Collins.

Members of both families and their lawyer Aamer Anwar are meeting Ms Constance on Thursday, having last met her following publication of the FAI findings in January.

They will then take their seats in the public gallery as she delivers a ministerial statement to Parliament on the response of the Government and SPS to the sheriff’s recommendations.

Speaking at a short press conference ahead of the meeting, Ms Allan’s parents Linda and Stuart said “now is the time” for action to make Scottish prisons safer.

Mr Allan said: “In January we got some hope at the end of the FAI, and obviously the statements that Angela Constance made in Parliament.

“We’re fed up with sorrys and apologies etc for the deaths of Katie and William.

“Now is the time we actually want to see some action. So we’re interested today to see what progress has been made and to make sure that there are mechanisms in place to make sure this doesn’t happen.”

Mrs Allan called in particular for an “overhaul” of the SPS Talk to Me (TTM) suicide prevention programme, saying it had made suicide rates rise instead of fall.

“The TTM strategy has actually increased suicides across the Scottish prison estate rather than reduced them,” she said. “It’s not worth the paper it’s written on and requires an overhaul by experts.

“It’s beyond my understanding that those experts lie within the SPS. They do not. They lie outwith the SPS, and why the health service isn’t leading on this or academics involved, I don’t understand.”

Mr Anwar echoed this, calling for a “national oversight mechanism” to implement meaningful change to TTM, and questioning what he said was a delay by the SPS to take action on making cells safer.

He also repeated his earlier calls for the SPS to be made more accountable for the deaths through a lifting of Crown immunity that means the service cannot be prosecuted.

“The SPS is guilty of gaslighting these families, of lying to them, of covering up,” the lawyer said.

“They are guilty of corporate homicide, they are guilty of a breach of the health and safety regulation, and we’ll be interested to hear today from the minister how far they’ve got with the UK Government with regards to lifting of Crown immunity.”

Teresa Medhurst, SPS chief executive, previously said: “We are sincerely sorry and we apologise for the deaths of Katie and William and our failings.

“We recognise that their families want action, not words, and we are determined and committed to move at pace and that the actions we are setting out will be enduring and save many lives in the future.

“SPS has a duty of care to vulnerable young people in custody, including in moments of crisis in their lives. This response today sets out how we meet those recommendations, but also look at all ways in which we can go beyond them.

“Our staff work hard to build positive relationships with people in custody every day, particularly those who might be vulnerable. This set of actions will provide the tools and training to support them in their important work.”

Ms Constance previously said: “I want to express my deepest condolences to the families of Katie Allan and William Lindsay.

“The Scottish Government has fully accepted the findings that their deaths were preventable and is committed to addressing the systemic failures identified.

“All recommendations from the inquiry have been accepted, and SPS are taking forward the urgent operational changes to implement those in full.

“As part of the broader measures, I have initiated an independent review of the FAI system to look at the efficiency, effectiveness and trauma informed nature of investigations.

“Progress is being made to make legal aid free for bereaved families participating in deaths in custody FAIs.”