TWO inmates have died in prison, it has been revealed. 

The Scottish Prison Service said on Monday that there were two deaths in their prisons including Glasgow's Barlinnie and Low Moss in Bishopbriggs. 

John Harrison, 73, was serving time in Riddrie's Barlinnie when he died. He was convicted at Glasgow High Court in June 2019.

The Scottish Prison Service said that Police Scotland have been informed and the matter reported to the Procurator Fiscal. A Fatal Accident Inquiry will be held in due course.

Frances McCarthy, 59, a prisoner from HMP Low Moss has also died. He was convicted at Paisley High Court in 1985.

The Scottish Prison again said that Police Scotland have been informed and the matter reported to the Procurator Fiscal. A Fatal Accident Inquiry will be held in due course.

It is not known if the deaths are related to the current Covid-19 outbreak.

Defence solicitor W. James Smith, of McGreevy & Co Criminal Defence and Prison Law Solicitors, however, took to Twitter to say: "Two more deaths in prison custody in Scotland today.

"HMP Barlinnie and HMP Low Moss. No indication if they are due to Covid-19 or not.

"We need more clarity from Scottish Prison Service and (Justice Secretary) Humza Yousaf. There needs to be more details. This will help us understand/monitor the situation."

Meanwhile, there are two confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country's jails, the Scottish Prison Service has said.

Around 30 people are self-isolating across the prison estate as part of measures to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

Last week John Angus, 66, who was being held at HMP Edinburgh, became the first Scottish prisoner to die after contracting the virus.

Scottish Prison Service (SPS) spokesman Tom Fox said the prison population is at its lowest since March 2018 which is helping with social distancing, and praised the efforts of staff and prisoners.

He told BBC Good Morning Scotland: "We're currently sitting with 7,339 people in custody - to put that in context, that's 821 less than the same week last year, so the population has come down.

"That's probably due to the court business being interrupted and a variety of other factors, but it's actually helped us maintain a greater degree of social isolation in prison than would have been possible had that not been the case.

"The population has been declining since the lockdown started and that's obviously helped because we're trying to maintain the same levels of social distancing and isolation as people are being asked to maintain in the community.

"It's a challenge but it's been made possible both through the hard work of prison staff and NHS staff and the co-operation of people in custody who are co-operating with staff."

He said that around 30 people across the estate are currently self isolating, while staff absence levels are currently at around 20%.

Mr Fox added: "We've had two confirmed cases of Covid as I speak, but the numbers actually self-isolating are relatively small, and I think that's due to the preventative measures that people have been taking right since the beginning of this lockdown."