Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill insisted today that he would not quit in the row over the latest prisoner to go on the run from an open jail.
Police are today continuing to hunt for murderer John Brown, after he failed to return to the Castle Huntly open prison near Dundee on Wednesday following a period of home leave.
First Minister Alex Salmond did not mention the latest case during a
ngry exchanges at Holyrood yesterday over the case of another prisoner who had gone on the run from the same jail.
And there were calls for Mr MacAskill to resign after it emerged he knew Brown was missing from the jail the day before Labour and the Tories had questioned Mr Salmond on absconds from the open prison estate.
Today Mr MacAskill insisted the decision about when information about Brown going on the run should be made public was not one for him to make.
He told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme that was an "operational matter" for the police.
And when asked if he would be standing down, the under fire Justice Secretary said: "Absolutely not."
Mr MacAskill was also pressed on whether the fact that a convicted killer had gone on the run should have been made public earlier.
But the Justice Secretary said: "That's not my decision. That's a matter for the police.
"It would be entirely inappropriate for me to direct the police as to how they should carry out an operation to try to recover an escaped prisoner.
"There are instances where they think it's appropriate for publicity, there are instances where they think it's inappropriate because it may hinder their attempts to apprehend them.
"It's not for me to interfere in that. That would be entirely inappropriate."
And he insisted: "It's not the job of the Justice Minister or any minister to go to the Parliament on each and every occasion when there is an absconding from the Scottish open estate."
Mr MacAskill said he had been told Brown – who is serving a life sentence for murder imposed in 1976 – had absconded by the prison service at about 5pm on Wednesday.
There was a furious reaction from opposition leaders last night after it emerged ministers had known about the case on Wednesday, yet it had not been mentioned when Mr Salmond was questioned yesterday on the case of Brian Martin – a prisoner who absconded from Castle Huntly last week and later handed himself in.
Mr Gray hit out: "When I pressed the First Minister today about the escape of Brian 'The Hawk' Martin, he withheld this information about the Brown abscond. This in itself is completely inexcusable."
He added: "Mr MacAskill's failure to deal with this debacle means he must go but the First Minister is also hugely damaged by this affair."
And Conservative leader Annabel Goldie blasted: "This issue goes far beyond a battered Justice Minister on the way out, this secrecy raises a huge question mark over the integrity of Government.
"How can the public have confidence in a justice system run by a Government which won't even tell Parliament what is happening?"
But both the First Minister and Mr MacAskill have stressed the "record low" number of prisoners who have absconded from the open estate after tougher new criteria were brought in last year.
These new criteria were brought in last year after prisoner Robert Foye raped a schoolgirl while on the run from Castle Huntly.
The Scottish Government has said there were just 16 cases where prisoners absconded from open jails in 2008-09, compared to 79 in 2006-07.
Today the Labour leader stepped up demands for the First Minister to sack his Justice Secretary.
Mr Gray told BBC Radio Scotland's Morning Extra it is an "insult to Parliament" that MSPs were not told by Mr Salmond yesterday of the latest case.
And he accused Mr MacAskill of "unbelievable complacency" in the case of Brian Martin.
"I think the First Minister should sack Kenny MacAskill," said Mr Gray.
The Brown case is the latest in a series of "fiascos" which he said included Mr MacAskill's decision to visit Canada rather than attend a knife summit in Edinburgh, the plan to scrap short sentences, and refusing to introduce community courts.
"I think we will see what kind of First Minister Alex Salmond is now – whether he has the nerve to sack a minister who is failing his Government," Mr Gray went on.
Asked if he would table a no-confidence motion, Mr Gray said: "I think to a degree that depends on how Alex Salmond behaves."
Mr Salmond was last week reported to have threatened an election if a no-confidence motion had been tabled over the Brian Martin case.
Mr Gray said: "We have heard all this stuff before – it's just baby stuff.
"Mr Salmond says he chooses who is in his cabinet.
"So let's give him the chance to see if he has the nerve to do what I think most people in Scotland think should happen, and sack Mr MacAskill."
He ducked questions on whether he had discussed this with other opposition party leaders, and insisted the ball is now in Mr Salmond's court.
"Let's see if he has the nerve to do what I think all the papers are calling for today and that is to get rid of his Justice Secretary because he is letting us down."
But the Prison Officers Association (POA) Scotland backed Mr MacAskill.
The union's vice chairman, Phil Fairlie, criticised the "manufactured outrage from opposition parties", saying they had taken "no steps whatsoever" to tackle absconding from the open estate when they were in power, despite higher numbers of this.
Mr Fairlie went on: "The POA fully supports the steps taken by the Justice Secretary in addressing the transfer of prisoners to the open estate.
"The fact that at present it is only holding roughly half its capacity, despite record numbers of prisoners, would suggest that the conditions for admission to the open estate are far more stringent than was ever in place under previous administrations.
"In our dealings with the Justice Secretary, he has always shown a great understanding of the issues facing us within the prison service, and has been extremely supportive of the staff within it.
"Prison staff take their role on behalf of society very seriously and carry it out with great commitment and professionalism. At present we have a Justice Secretary who both recognises and supports them in that, and until such times as that changes, he will continue to have the support of this union."
Mr Fairlie said that while the union shared worries over prisoners such as Brian Martin absconding, its members were equally concerned that the Scottish Prison Service and its staff were "fast becoming a political football for some of our politicians".
He added: "This union is deeply concerned that some of the comments made this week simply undermine both the morale and confidence of the staff in our open estate, who are carrying out a very important role on behalf of the public in preparing prisoners for release back into our communities."
Open prisons are a "vital and necessary element of the prison service that not only seeks to prepare prisoners for release back into our communities but are there to test them as to their suitability for that release", he said.
Tory leader Annabel Goldie today accused Mr Salmond of misleading Parliament.
In a letter to the First Minister she said he had not only failed to mention the Brown case at First Minister's Questions, but had misled Parliament by using statistics which excluded the Brown case.
"You represented a situation which as you represented it you knew to be incorrect," she said.
"I consider there is a much more serious aspect to this than the fragility of the Justice Secretary, which is the stature of Parliament and the integrity of Government and its relationship with Parliament and the public.
"I therefore call upon you to make a statement to the Parliament at the earliest opportunity to clarify the position and to explain the conduct of yourself and your Government."
