Prisoners serving custodial sentences should be given the right to vote, Holyrood's equalities and human rights committee has said.

A majority of MSPs on the committee feel preventing prisoners from voting doesn't serve the interests of society or their rehabilitation.

The committee began considering prisoner voting last September after receiving a letter on the issue from Green MSP Patrick Harvie.

It has now published a report which said the current blanket ban is arbitrary and is being changed for UK elections following a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights.

Committee convener Christina McKelvie said: "Prisoner voting is a fundamental issue.

"It strikes to the heart of questions like 'what sort of society do we want to be', 'what is prison for' and 'what are the rights and responsibilities of a citizen'.

"After careful consideration of this issue, we as a cross-party committee have come to a conclusion that the current ban should be lifted, and the right to vote be restored to all prisoners.

"We are acutely aware that prison is a place people go to be punished, and that there will be individual cases people find distasteful; but we need to think about rehabilitation, and not further excluding and alienating people from society."

Jamie Greene MSP and Annie Wells MSP dissented from the overall conclusion that all prisoners serving custodial sentences should have the right to vote but welcomed wider consultation by the Scottish Government.

Ms Wells, Scottish Conservative equalities spokeswoman, added: "There is absolutely no public support for these proposals, and at no time did the committee hear directly from victims of crime on this matter.

"Breaking the law is a serious matter and it is right that criminals are punished accordingly.

"Criminals should know that when they break the law this will be one of the consequences.

"Victims of crime will be horrified that that, yet again, the rights of criminals are being prioritised above the experiences of victims."