If a probationer still gets into trouble, the county can now punish him in ways short of returning him to prison.

ECONOMIST: Imprisonment in California

It is also warning that some trainee teachers face difficulty in finding a school placement despite assurances in the agreement that every "probationer" will get one year's training.

BBC: New fears over teachers' pay

Mrs Hood, 60, is originally from Kilmarnock, and began her church career as a probationer assistant at St Ninian's Corstorphine Church in Edinburgh where she was ordained in 1978.

BBC: Lorna Hood