No one under the age of 18 should be sent to jail, Scotland’s chief inspector of prisons has insisted.

Wendy Sinclair-Gieben is hoping for legislation to be implemented that would bring an end to the imprisonment of 16 and 17-year-olds by the end of this month.

She said Covid-19 placed a spotlight on children and young people in prison, with their treatment and conditions comparable to the adult population’s extreme restrictions and in stark contrast to the regime that children held in the secure care estate experienced.

She said while the Scottish Government is committed to removing children under 18 from the prison estate, “it’s not expediting it fast enough”.

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