Reliance staff will take on the work from Thursday

It will replace police and prison staff in Dumfries and Galloway from Thursday.

A number of prisoners were released in error after Reliance began its contract in the west of Scotland in April.

The Scottish National Party described the move as "reckless" - but Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson said she had been assured that the firm was ready.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) told her that the service already being provided in the Strathclyde Police area would not be affected.

Rolled out

Reliance employees have been shadowing police, prison and court staff in Dumfries and Galloway for three weeks.

Ms Jamieson said the �126m contract would not be rolled out into other parts of Scotland until similar tests had been met.

She had halted the process in April in the light of the mistaken prisoner releases.

She said the contract would not be extended until the prison service had carried out an assessment and until police and prosecutors could give assurances that they were ready to proceed alongside Reliance.

Cathy Jamieson said she had been given assurances

On Monday, SPS chief executive Tony Cameron said he now felt able to give Ms Jamieson the necessary assurances for the Dumfries and Galloway area.

"In dealing with prisoners there are no guarantees, but the extremely high level of preparation and co-operation for this roll-out has been unprecedented in my experience," he said.

"That and the assurances I have received from my colleagues and the company gave me the confidence to authorise this next phase."

The prison service said "key lessons" had been learned from the first phase.

Staff in Glasgow handle as many escorts in a day as those in Dumfries and Galloway do in a year.

Ms Jamieson described the move as a "small, but important, step forward".

Cathy Jamieson seems to have learned nothing from the experience of the last few months Nicola Sturgeon SNP justice spokeswoman

She said: "The vast majority of prisoners are being delivered to the courts on time in the first phase, and procedures within the courts are improving and developing.

"The decision to extend the contract to Dumfries and Galloway cannot, and must not, impact on that good performance in Glasgow, Paisley, Hamilton and other first phase courts.

"That was one key factor in the Scottish Prison Service's assessment of readiness and it will be one of a number of tests that I expect to be applied in each and every phase of this roll-out."

She said there was no room for complacency and that she expected the SPS to monitor progress very closely.

However, Scottish National Party justice spokeswoman Nicola Sturgeon claimed that the minister was "taking a huge gamble with public safety".

"Cathy Jamieson seems to have learned nothing from the experience of the last few months," she said.

"If she had, she would accept that the Reliance contract should not be rolled out - it should be scrapped."

Tory justice spokeswoman Annabel Goldie said the roll-out would prove a test for Ms Jamieson.

She said: "Will she be able to oversee an effective roll-out of the contract and correct the mistakes that she has made?