Further delay to completion of £209m HMP Highland

The Scottish government says there has been a further delay to the planned completion of a new prison in Inverness.

Justice Secretary Neil Gray told Holyrood that HMP Highland was now due to be finished in spring 2027 because of construction issues.

The £209m jail was to completed later this year, though the original timescale was for it to be open in 2020.

The prison will have capacity for 200 inmates from the Highlands and Islands.

The new jail is being built to replace HMP Inverness, which is one of Scotland's oldest prisons.

Now more than 120 years old, the Victorian-era complex near the city centre has had long-running problems with overcrowding.

Gray mentioned HMP Highland during a speech on Scottish government's work to tackle an increase in the prison population.

He said: "Scotland has taken a number of steps to alleviate these pressures.

"Reconfiguration of the prison estate realised around 400 additional places and two further new prisons will deliver a further 460 spaces.

"I expect HMP Highland to be completed in spring 2027, later than planned due to construction issues, and HMP Glasgow, which I visited last week, in 2028."

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) said the delay to HMP Highland was disappointing, but it remained "absolutely determined" to deliver a larger, modern prison.

A spokesperson added: "With capacity for 200 people, it will be almost twice as big as HMP Inverness, which it will replaces, meaning that more individuals in custody from the Highlands will be able to stay close to home, supporting those relationships with family and friends, which is so important to rehabilitation and reducing the risk of reoffending."