Rapists will be set free more than two years early under the latest expansion of the SNP’s soft-touch approach to justice.

The average jail time served by people who are guilty of rape will be reduced by more than two years and four months as a result of new Justice Secretary Neil Gray’s proposal to automatically release long-term prisoners after two-thirds of their sentence.

A separate plan to introduce a presumption against sentences of two years or less could also help nearly 1,500 offenders a year escape jail entirely, including many found guilty of robbery, sexual assault, serious assault and even attempted murder or death by dangerous driving.

The proposals were branded a ‘shameful surrender to criminals’ after they were sneaked out by ministers on the last day of the Scottish Parliament before it entered its long summer recess.

Official Scottish Government statistics show that the average length of sentence handed out to predators who are found guilty of rape or attempted rape was 2,564 days, or just over seven years, in 2023/24.

Under Mr Gray’s proposals to release long-term offenders after two-thirds of a sentence, someone serving the average sentence for rape would be set free 855 days earlier, after 1,709 days, or just over four-and-a-half years.

Stephen Kerr, Scottish Conservative justice spokesman, said: ‘Scots will be disgusted that the SNP’s plans will mean rapists will be free to roam the streets again far sooner than they should be.

‘These predators should be serving their sentences in full and enduring a proper punishment for their vile crimes. Instead the SNP’s only answer is to open the gates early again which will put public safety and victims of crime at huge risk.

‘Neil Gray should be owning the SNP’s failures to build the prison capacity Scotland needs, rather than doubling down on proposals that put the needs of dangerous criminals first.’

Currently, those on ‘short-term’ sentences of four years or less are released after serving just 30 per cent of their sentence while ‘long-term’ prisoners do not get automatic early release but are eligible to apply for parole after half of their sentence.

Mr Gray’s reform proposals, which have gone out to public consultation, would see the definition of short-term prisoners change to those sentenced to less than five years, meaning more serious offenders will be eligible for the automatic early release after 30 per cent of their sentence.

In addition, ‘long-term’ offenders who have been denied parole will be automatically released after two-thirds of their sentence and will spend the final third of their sentence in the community.

Among those who would benefit from the earlier release point for long-term prisoners is former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, who was sentenced to five years and three months for embezzling more than £400,000 from his party.

Rape Crisis Scotland chief executive Alev Taylor said: ‘Organisations like ours have fought hard to maintain the exemption of rape and sexual offenders from early release schemes, both to ensure the safety of survivors and to maintain overall confidence in the justice system.’

A further proposed reform is to increase the current ‘presumption against’ prison from sentences of less than one year at present to sentences of less than two years.

Official data shows 1,464 custodial sentences of between one and two years were handed out by courts in 2023/24, including 236 for serious assault or attempted murder, 219 for common assault, 108 for robbery, 40 for sexual assault and two for death by dangerous driving.

Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said: ‘This shameful surrender to criminals was sneaked out on the last day of parliament and was certainly not in the SNP’s election manifesto.

‘John Swinney now thinks he can ramp up his government’s deliberate process of weakening Scotland’s criminal justice system. The slashing of jail sentences by Swinney’s soft-touch Justice Secretary will be a hammer blow to crime victims while brave police officers will despair.

‘For years, SNP ministers have used crowded prisons to impose increasingly dishonest and weak sentencing policies. But this is a problem entirely of their making as they’re responsible for failing to provide the necessary prison spaces.

‘Law-abiding Scots will find it astonishing that one of the first criminals who might benefit from this latest outbreak of SNP soft sentencing is Peter Murrell. There is another way. 

'Swinney should adopt our policy of using overseas prisons to ensure criminals serve the sentence imposed on them by the independent judiciary.’