Notorious murderer William Beggs has failed in a legal bid against the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) after officers at HMP Edinburgh refused to accept a delivery from Amazon on his behalf.
Legal bid thrown out by judge
The 62-year-old killer, serving life for the 1999 murder of teenager Barry Wallace, took the SPS to the Court of Session, Scotland's highest civil court. He claimed that the prison's policy of only accepting items from pre-approved suppliers breached his human rights.
The incident occurred in December last year when delivery drivers attempted to drop off what were described as 'personal items' for Beggs at the Edinburgh prison. Staff refused the parcel on the grounds that Amazon is not an 'approved supplier' under SPS rules.
Equality Act claim dismissed
Beggs, who is an Irish citizen, argued through his lawyers that the policy was unlawful. He claimed it breached the 2010 Equality Act, stating that his nationality was a 'protected characteristic'.
His legal team contended that prisoners of different nationalities were disadvantaged by the policy, as their families were more likely to live far from the jail and might need to rely on postal deliveries. They asserted such inmates were 'prejudiced' by the rules.
The SPS's representatives robustly defended the policy, labelling the claims as nonsense and urging the court not to uphold the action.
Judge sides with prison service
Judge Lady Hood agreed with the SPS and threw out the legal bid. In her written judgement, she stated: 'I am not persuaded that it has been demonstrated that the policy... puts those sharing the petitioner’s race at a particular disadvantage when compared with those who do not.'
Lady Hood also highlighted the 'serious and urgent' danger posed by illicit items like drugs being smuggled into prisons, justifying the need for strict controls on incoming packages.
Despite the refused Amazon delivery, the judge noted that a family member had later re-ordered the items and delivered them personally during a visit to Beggs.
Beggs, convicted of the horrific murder of Barry Wallace in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, has a long history of legal challenges since his imprisonment. He is estimated to have been granted nearly £1 million in legal aid to fund these numerous proceedings.
