The justice secretary has pledged to consider how victims' rights could be strengthened after meeting the family of a teenage girl who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend.

Relatives of Michelle Stewart met Humza Yousaf to make the case for "Michelle's Law".

She was 17 when she was stabbed to death in the street by John Wilson in 2008.

Her family launched their campaign after learning her killer could get out of jail before his minimum sentence is up.

Mr Yousaf thanked the family for meeting with him on Friday, saying they had "shown enormous strength in coming forward to tell Michelle's story".

Mr Yousaf said: "Family presented a number of proposals - I will look at them with an open mind. Will look to see how we can strengthen victim's rights."

Wilson has been approved for first grant of temporary release - despite the judge who jailed him in 2009 making clear he should serve 12 years before he could apply for parole.

The family say they have had little input into the release process, and have been unable to restrict his relocation to exclude their local area.

They have set up a petition calling for a halt to Wilson's relocation to Ayr upon his release. It has gained 4500 signatures so far.

Their campaign calls for an explicit requirement for the safety and welfare of victims and their families to be taken into account when parole and early release are considered.

They are also calling for increased "exclusion zones" on offenders, and improvements to the Victim Notification Scheme so victims and their families are given reasons for an offender's release, and can make representations in person.

Michelle's sister Lisa Stewart said: "My sister was taken from us when she was only 17 years old in a savage, premeditated attack.

"The original sentence was not nearly long enough and now we face, just nine years on, the prospect of seeing my sister's killer on the street, on the bus or in the shops. It is unbelievably painful.

"Other families have also contacted me, telling me of their terror at facing their loved one's attacker and that there's nothing they can do to stop it.

"That isn't right, and that's why we are launching this campaign. We are victims too and our voices must be heard."