'Freedom' scheme inmate missing

The prisoner had taken part in a training scheme

A prisoner who was allowed temporary freedom at a Scottish jail has gone missing.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) said Gordon Johnstone, 43, from Glasgow, was taking part in a programme called Training for Freedom.

The SPS said the scheme has been designed to prepare Johnstone for life outside Saughton Prison in Edinburgh.

However, he failed to return to the prison on Saturday.

Unfortunately every so often some prisoners fail to return

Prison spokeswoman

Johnstone was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh in 1990 for crimes of dishonesty and violence.

The programme has been designed to get inmates back into society and involves work placements and allocating them time away from jail to spend with their families.

An SPS spokeswoman said: "The prisoner was on the Training for Freedom programme and failed to report back to the unit.

"He is a Category D prisoner who was not deemed to be a risk to the public.

"The programme is a means of testing whether a prisoner is suitable for release and a number of inmates are on schemes such as this.

"Unfortunately every so often some prisoners fail to return."

The spokeswoman said there was no evidence to suggest that Johnstone posed a risk to the public but advised people to avoid approaching him.

Johnstone was described as white, 6ft tall, with short light brown hair. He was clean shaven and of medium build.

He was last seen wearing a dark baseball cap, dark bomber-style jacket, dark blue jeans and a white T-shirt.