'Not balanced' | Prison officers sacked after 'fundamentally flawed' HR probe into assault claims

Three residential prison officers who were sacked after being accused of assaulting a prisoner were unfairly dismissed, an employment tribunal in Scotland has ruled.

In a unanimous judgment covering claims brought by Mr B McTague, Mr S Milne and Mr K O’Hara against The Scottish Ministers, the tribunal found “the investigation which was carried out was fundamentally flawed” and that the dismissal decision was not within “the band of reasonable responses”.

Two of the officers were also granted reinstatement orders, returning them to their roles from January 2026.

All three claimants worked as residential prison officers in HMP Edinburgh, primarily as Physical Training Instructors, but also worked overtime as general prison officers in the hall.