Court rejects inmates' voting bid

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A legal challenge by two prisoners who demanded the right to vote in the Scottish elections has been rejected at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

The murderer and armed robber, who are in Shotts Prison, claimed their human rights were breached by legislation that bans those in prison from voting.

Derek Traynor and James Fisher had hoped to stop the May poll going ahead.

However, Lord Malcolm ruled that the election was lawful and he rejected the convicts' claims for £1,000 in damages.

The prisoners' lawyer had claimed that a 2007 order, which made provision for the Scottish elections, was incompatible with human rights legislation.

He also argued that the Scottish secretary had no power to enforce the order without authorisation from Westminster.

Shotts Prison

However, Lord Malcolm said: "I reject the submission that the order is unlawful or outwith the powers of the secretary of state."

The judge went on to say the difficulty for the convicts' argument was that the 1983 act denying voting rights to prisoners was an act of the Westminster parliament and "could not be clearer in its terms".

The judge said he was not prepared to repeat the declarations of incompatibility with human rights given in a previous case.

Traynor was jailed for life in 2001 for a fatal knife attack and Fisher is currently serving nine years for armed robberies.

The men could still appeal the ruling.