A prison warder convicted of harbouring dangerous criminal James Holland has been released on a tag, less than five months into a year-and-a-half sentence.
Christine Robertson (45) was jailed in May for harbouring one of Scotland’s most notorious criminals in her Monifieth home.
However, the shamed warder has now been freed under the Home Detention Curfew scheme.
A tag now monitors her whereabouts as part of the deal to let her out early.
Robertson, who was a warder at Castle Huntly, has spent less than 22 weeks at Cornton Vale, Scotland’s specialist women’s prison, after being found guilty of her crime at Dundee Sheriff Court.
Conservative justice spokesman David McLetchie hit out at the decision to release her early.
He said: ”It is a slap in the face and demonstrates yet again the mockery of our sentencing system, which lets people like Christine Robertson out after serving, in this case, barely a third of her sentence.
”It’s just one of hundreds of examples that you could cite every week of what’s going on.”
HDC allows prisoners to serve up to a quarter of their sentence on licence in the community, while wearing an electronic tag.
It is expected a prisoner would serve half their sentence, pending good behaviour.
Robertson has refused to comment.
She was found guilty by a jury after a trial in May of aiding and abetting James Holland in absconding and attempting to defeat the ends of justice by allowing him to stay at her home in Reform Street, Monifieth.
Robertson had denied the offence, claiming Holland had forced her to harbour him.
The pair were found naked in bed by riot squad officers who burst into her Monifieth home in the early hours.
Holland had to be Tasered after he waved a large kitchen knife at police.
A spokesman for the Scottish Prison Service said that he could not comment on individual prisoners.
The SPS website states: ”Prisoners who fail to comply with the curfew or other licence conditions can be recalled to custody.”