Prisoner's release claims ignored

McMultan disappeared from a work party at Saughton Prison

A convict, who absconded when no-one heeded claims he should already have been freed, has had his conviction quashed by the Appeal Court in Scotland .

Christopher McMultan, 29, from Perth, was handed a further nine month jail sentence after being caught.

But prison chiefs later admitted that McMultan should have been freed more than two months before he fled.

Further errors led to him being wrongly detained for a total of 10 months. He is now seeking £80,000 in damages.

McMultan was serving a seven year sentence for assault and robbery when he absconded from a work party in the car park of Saughton Prison in Edinburgh in December 1999.

Admitted mistake

He was on the run for three months before being arrested.

In May 2000 he was jailed for a further nine months for attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

However, the Scottish Prison Service later wrote to McMultan and admitted to a mistake over his release date.

His earliest liberation date should have been 5 October, 1999.

The sentence was quashed at the Court of Criminal Appeal

The letter said: "Due to an administrative error in the calculation of your sentence you were not released from custody and were therefore unlawfully detained from 6 October, 1999, until 28 December, 1999, when you absconded from custody."

The SPS then said that McMultan had been unlawfully detained until the eve of his sheriff court appearance.

After serving half the sentence for absconding he was again illegally detained from 1 October, 2000, to 24 April the following year, when he was finally released on licence.

The letter said: "You will no doubt wish to bring this letter to the attention of your legal advisors with a view to seeking compensation for the periods you have been unlawfully detained."

It also advised him to consult his solicitor over an appeal against the nine-month sentence.

Protests ignored

The SPS letter added: "On behalf of the Scottish Prison Service, I would record our deep regret for the errors in the calculation of your sentences which have resulted in the periods of unlawful detention."

In his appeal McMultan said he had protested to the authorities on a number of occasions that his release date had passed, but his protests were ignored.

He is suing the Scottish Executive for £80,000 in damages.

McMultan is currently serving a three-year sentence for a drugs offence.

Defence counsel Gordon Jackson QC told the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh that it was "an extremely odd case".