Nicola Sturgeon under pressure to specify which prisoners will get the vote in Holyrood elections

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon during First Minister's Questions in the Scottish Parliament
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon during First Minister's Questions in the Scottish Parliament Credit: Corbis News

Nicola Sturgeon is under pressure to specify which prisoners can vote in Scottish Parliament and council elections after rejecting calls for murderers and rapists to be given the privilege.

The First Minister rejected a call from SNP, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green MSPs on an influential Holyrood committee to extend the right to all inmates.

She said she was unpersuaded those guilty of the “most serious and heinous crimes” should be given the vote and called for a “grown-up” cross-party debate over where the line should be drawn.

Ms Sturgeon said her government had to comply with the European Convention Human Rights (ECHR) but the Tories noted she was at loggerheads with her some of her backbenchers...

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