Prisoners serving short-term sentences will be released earlier as John Swinney warned Scotland's jails are "bursting at the seams".

The prison population currently sits at 8,322 but will soar to an “unsustainable position” without intervention, MSPs were told.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance said prisoners serving less than a four-year sentence in Scotland will be released earlier under new plans.

The proposed changes, subject to parliamentary approval, will see short-term inmates released after serving 40% of their sentence instead of the current 50% criteria.

That would result in around between 260 and 390 prisoners being freed, Ms Constance said in Holyrood.

It follows similar action from the UK Government in an effort to bring down prison populations across the country.

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However, offenders serving jail time for domestic abuse and sexual offences will not be eligible for the early provisions.

The Justice Secretary said the Scottish Government could not rule out the potential for further emergency early release of prisoners similar to the scheme taken in the summer which saw 477 prisoners allowed to leave custody.

Data showed 57 offenders released early in the summer were now back in prison.

“I intend to pursue a similar policy to change the point at which most short-term prisoners are released from the current 50% to after 40% of their sentence has been served,” she said in Parliament on Thursday.

“This proposal would come with statutory exclusions in relation to domestic abuse and sexual offences, recognising the particular concerns which will arise in relation to such offences.”

The Scottish Government launched a consultation on the early release of long-term prisoners earlier this year, but Ms Constance decided against such a move.

Organisations representing victims expressed significant concern at the proposals following an early release scheme in the summer which saw almost 500 inmates released early.

Ms Constance said: “It is not my intention to ask Parliament to authorise the use of emergency early release again at this stage.

“However, I am aware that if it is necessary and there is no alternative, it may be needed.”

A previous scheme would have allowed many long-term prisoners to automatically be released after serving two-thirds of their sentence.

However, it was scrapped by then first minister Nicola Sturgeon, who said it would only be permitted when the prisoner had six months left to serve.

Ms Constance said the measures were being introduced because ministers "cannot allow" the prison population to rise to "unsustainable levels".

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She said: “The latest projections through to January 2025 indicate that the prison population will likely continue to rise.

“Without intervention this would take us into an unsustainable position. We cannot allow that to transpire.”

It followed stark warnings from the First Minister who warned: "Our prisons are absolutely bursting at the seams."

Speaking at First Minister's Questions (FMQs), he added: "Fundamentally, there is a difficulty about the rise in the prison population, the prison population this morning is sitting at 8,322. It’s a very high level.

“Ministers are concerned for the wellbeing of prison officer staff and for prisoners as a consequence of the level of congestion there is in our prisons.”

Scottish Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: “Despite promises several years ago there is still no long term holistic strategy and route map to address the prison system within the principle of justice and due regard for victims that will avoid panicked measures from this government.

“I find it extraordinary that 17 years of SNP justice secretaries have failed to strategise a proper plan.”

Community safety spokeswoman Katy Clark said: “This crisis is the result of 17 years of SNP incompetence and mismanagement.

“Year after year the SNP has failed to build or modernise prisons or deal with the courts backlog, leaving our crumbling prison estate bursting at the seams.

“In its last round of prisoner releases, victims of crime were treated as an afterthought – that cannot be allowed to happen again.

“Victims must not be forgotten and public safety must be protected if the SNP is to go ahead with these plans.

“The fact more releases are required so soon after the last round shows that we need more than short-term solutions – the SNP must tackle the root causes of this overcrowding so we don’t end up here again in a few more months.”

Kate Wallace, chief executive of Victim Support Scotland, said taking longer to consider future early release schemes was welcome.

But she said: "Going forward, robust communications plans implemented via the long-awaited and much-needed improved Victim Notification Scheme will be crucial in keeping victims safe and preventing more victims from being created.

"Given that only 2% of the victims were informed about their prisoner being release as part of emergency early release, we are calling for urgent and swift action to ensure victims are informed."

During FMQs, Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay accused the Scottish Government of "relentlessly weakening justice" and allowing criminals to "get away with inflicting pain and misery on innocent people".

The First Minister hit back, arguing the remarks were "patently untrue" and "complete nonsense".

Phil Fairlie, assistant general secretary of the Prison Officers Association, said the body “gives a caution welcome” to the announcement from the Justice Secretary, saying it “indicates to us that there is at least a recognition of the scale of the problem”.

But he added: “The persistently high prisoner population makes clear that we need a genuine debate about the purpose of prison and a radical rethink of the sentencing policy if we are going to end the need for further emergency measures.”

In June and July, around 500 prisoners were released early if they had less than 180 days left on a sentence under four years.

But official data showed that a third of those released were serving sentences for violent crimes, while just 2% of victims were notified when it involved their perpetrator. 

Following the Justice Secretary's announcement, Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC announced measures aimed at reducing the remand population - which currently accounts for around 27% of the total number of prisoners.

She said prosecutors have been instructed not to oppose the bail of those accused of crimes unless they "represent a substantial risk" to the public.

These changes will also not include those convinced of domestic violence or sexual crimes.