Holyrood last night passed legislation which will prevent primary school-age children from being treated as criminals.
MSPs unanimously backed a new law raising the age of criminal responsibility from the current age of eight – one of the lowest in the world – to 12.
But Liberal Democrat MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton, who had called for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised to either 14 or 16, said the legislation “fatally undermined” Scotland’s ambition to be a world leader in human rights.
Children’s minister Maree Todd said “analysing the implications” of moving to a higher age would have delayed yesterday’s move but added that the limit could be raised at a later date.
