Christopher Halliwell murder tariff to stand

Halliwell killed Miss O'Callaghan in Savernake Forest

The minimum sentence given to a man who murdered an office worker will not be changed, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

Christopher Halliwell, 48, was jailed in October for life with a minimum tariff of 25 years for the murder of Sian O'Callaghan, 22, from Swindon.

She was abducted by the taxi driver outside a nightclub in the town and murdered in Savernake Forest.

Attorney General Dominic Grieve had asked the Court of Appeal to rule on whether his sentence was long enough.

Lord Justice Pitchford, announcing the ruling of the three Appeal Court judges, said the judge at Halliwell's trial had been "entitled" to reach the decision she had when setting the minimum term.

He was jailed at Bristol Crown Court on 19 October after admitting Miss O'Callaghan's murder.

Her body was found near the Uffington White Horse in Oxfordshire.

Following the taxi driver's arrest, he also led detectives to the body of Becky Godden in Gloucestershire.

But Halliwell was not prosecuted over that death after a judge ruled detectives had ignored arrest guidelines.

Halliwell was not taken to a police station to be read his rights by Det Supt Steve Fulcher.