THE Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf has apologised to a woman who was battered unconscious by a convicted killer who had been released from jail on home leave.

Robbie McIntosh attempted to murder Linda McDonald as she walked her dog in Templeton Woods, Dundee, in August 2017.

He had been allowed on home leave from Castle Huntly prison, and in a review, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) said the incident could not have been predicted. McDonald feared she would die in the attack, in which she was battered with a dumbbell.

Now the 55-year-old has revealed that Yousaf had “apologised wholeheartedly to me and my family for the failings” she says led to the incident.

She went on: “That is all I ever wanted, for them to acknowledge mistakes were made so no-one else could be hurt.”

A significant case review last year concluded the decision to release McIntosh, then 32, was “flawed”.

He had been behind bars for murdering dog walker Anne Nicoll on the Law in Dundee in 2001, when he stabbed his victim repeatedly.

An Order for Lifelong Restriction was imposed on McIntosh for the attack on McDonald, meaning he will be imprisoned for an indeterminate period and could spend the rest of his life behind bars.

After the meeting with Yousaf,

McDonald said: “I don’t blame the psychopath that attacked me that day, I blame the Scottish Prison Service for giving him the opportunity to attack me by giving him his home leave when all the signs were there.”

She added: “How could I blame a psychopath? I won’t waste my energy on him, he’s mentally ill, there’s no cure.

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“I’ll put my energy into making sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

Her lawyer Aamer Anwar, who was also present at the meeting, said SPS bosses should now have the “guts” to meet McDonald and her family.

A Scottish Prison Service (SPS) spokeswoman said: “The assault on Mrs McDonald was a despicable act of cruelty and violence which we condemn.

“The Scottish Prison Service deeply regrets that someone who was on licence from our care subjected Mrs McDonald to such a painful and traumatic experience.

“The SPS accepted all of the recommendations within the significant case review that relate to the SPS without reservation. “

She added: “Since this incident, the SPS has taken steps to improve our progression processes, particularly in relation to risk assessment and management.

“We remain committed to making whatever adjustments and improvements deemed necessary, aiming to ensure that such a tragedy does not happen again.”