Victims groups and politicians last night condemned as "unbelievable and unacceptable" the internal review of open prison protocols ordered after a violent inmate was allowed to escape and rape a schoolgirl.

The report found there was "always a possibility" that Robert Foye would flee from the open prison estate but that staff could not have predicted that he would commit rape.

Foye absconded from Castle Huntly prison last August after being allowed out to attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in Dundee. The 28-year-old was missing for almost a week before he assaulted a schoolgirl in Cumbernauld.

Critics have questioned why Foye was allowed to return to the open prison estate, where there are no fences and inmates are only locked in at night, when he had already absconded once from Castle Huntly in 2005.

The review published yesterday, which was demanded by the Justice Secretary in January this year, concluded that all protocols were followed and that Foye was risk-assessed and had spent the obligatory 12 months back in the closed estate before being sent back to Castle Huntly.

However, the report did not question whether the risk assessments and checks in place were adequate.

Foye admitted the rape at the High Court in Glasgow and is due to be sentenced in May. He faces being under strict supervision for the rest of his life because of his high risk of reoffending.

He was originally convicted of attempted murder in 2002 after reversing a car at excessive speed at a police officer.



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The review found that Foye fitted the criteria for transfer to an open prison, but conceded "an abscond was always a possibility" given his background. It also said: "Robert Foye was assessed as high-risk of reoffending' so a further offence was always a possibility."

Considering his history of previous convictions, which were mainly related to "dishonesty and car-related crime", it did not find a rape offence was predictable.

Mike Ewart, prison service chief executive, said: "It is impossible to imagine the upset and hurt that Foye's offence has caused for his victim and her family. While the conclusions indicate that the particular offence he was convicted of could not have been predicted, there are points of learning to be gleaned from this exercise and we will make sure these are implemented."

The review was ordered after intense media interest and concerned MSPs raised the case with Alex Salmond, the First Minister.

Last night, Bill Aitken MSP, the Tory justice spokesman, said: "This is utterly outrageous. I am stunned by the findings and contradictions in this report. If Foye was assessed as a high risk of reoffending' who was likely to abscond, how did he meet the criteria' for the open estate?

"Given that he was serving a sentence for attempted murder, how on earth could the assessment conclude that when he did reoffend it would merely be property-related? And why would a property-related crime be acceptable in any case?

"This is an unbelievable and unacceptable state of affairs."

Pauline McNeill, Labour's justice spokeswoman, questioned how the authorities could have decided it was appropriate to send Foye to the open estate.

"Kenny MacAskill should immediately distance himself from this assertion and admit that Foye should not have been in Castle Huntly after he absconded the first time," she said. "There were serious errors under his watch and he needs to take responsibility and make sure it never happens again."

David Sinclair, head of communications for Victim Support Scotland, said that the organisation supports the principle of preparing certain offenders for release in the open estate, but criticised the report.

"From the perspective of a victims organisation, it is certainly not acceptable to say they had no way of knowing what he would do," he said.

"The open prison is seen as a privilege for people nearing the end of their sentence. If that privilege has been abused once I think most victims would think that the person should not be considered again for the open estate.

"However, it is important to bear in mind that the vast majority of people going through the open prison system are successfully processed."

Mr MacAskill, the Justice Secretary, said: "These recommendations are being introduced as a matter of urgency.

"While it will never be possible to completely eliminate risk, it is absolutely vital that lessons are learned to minimise the chance of this type of shocking incident from happening again."