More than 500 registered sex offenders in Scotland have changed their name in the last two years by exploiting a legal loophole which the SNP refuse to close.
Police Scotland records reveal they were notified of 506 instances of sex criminals changing their names within a 23-month period between April 2023 and March 2025.
The data was obtained via a freedom of information request by the Scottish Conservatives, who have been calling for years for the Nationalists to ban this practice.
Shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr MSP expressed his dismay that SNP ministers continue to allow hundreds of sex offenders “to play the system” by changing their name every year.
Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr MSP said: “It’s indefensible that the SNP continue to allow hundreds of sex offenders to play the system by changing their name every year.
“The public are being kept in the dark about the true identity of dangerous predators, which is putting them at greater risk.
“Those placed on the sex offenders’ register are there for good reason, yet our calls for this dangerous name-change loophole to be closed have been repeatedly and inexplicably ignored by SNP ministers.
“These rising figures are testament to the SNP’s relentless pandering to criminals at the expense of victims.
“It is vital that SNP’s ministers apply some common sense and urgently scrap this practice. They must do more to support police in monitoring these offenders.”
Notes to editors
There were 506 notifications to Police Scotland of sex offenders changing their name from April 2023 to 13 March 2025. This comprises 263 notifications in the financial year 2023-24 and 243 from the start of the 2024-25 financial year until 13/3/2025. (Police Scotland FOI Response, 25 March 2025, available upon request).
There was a nine per cent increase in sex offenders changing their name between 2022-23 and 2023-24. In the financial year 2023-24, there were 263 notifications received by Police Scotland about a sex offender changing their name in comparison with 241 notifications received in 2022-23. (Police Scotland FOI Response, 25 March 2025, available upon request; Police Scotland FOI Response, 16 November 2023, available on request).
Russell Findlay warned the Scottish Government in March 2024 about this practice and since then there have been 243 more notifications of a sex offender name change. Findlay warned in March 2024 that almost 400 registered sex offenders had changed their name within a two-year period. From April 2024 up to 13 March 2025, there were 243 notifications received by Police Scotland about a sex offender changing their name. (Police Scotland FOI Response, 25 March 2025, available upon request; STV News, 10 March 2024, link).
The Scottish Government again refused to commit to legislating to stop sex offenders from changing their name. In response to a question from Shadow Justice Secretary Liam Kerr MSP asking whether the Government will legislate to stop this on 26 March 2025, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs refused to commit to this. (Scottish Parliament, 26 March 2025, link).