Emma Caldwell inquiry update coming 'within days'

Emma Caldwell's family were invited to Bute House to meet the first minister

Emma Caldwell's mother has said the justice secretary will update the Scottish Parliament "within days" on calls for a public inquiry into her daughter's murder investigation.

Margaret Caldwell met the first minister on Tuesday to call for a judge to look into police failings in the investigation into Iain Packer.

He was jailed for life on 28 February for the murder of Emma in 2005.

The Scottish government has now promised a quick decision on the issue.

Mrs Caldwell and her family met the first minister and justice secretary at Bute House in Edinburgh.

Details of the botched investigation came out after Packer was convicted of the murder, as well as 11 rapes and multiple sexual assaults against a total of 22 women.

After the verdict, Police Scotland apologised for how the original inquiry was handled and for letting down Emma and other victims.

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A BBC investigation showed how police missed the chance to catch Packer in the months after her murder because senior officers repeatedly dismissed him as a suspect.

Four former detectives said senior officers told them not to pursue Packer and instead wrongly built a case against four Turkish men who were then cleared.

Margaret Caldwell asked the first minister for a public inquiry into the police investigation into Emma's murder

In a statement released by the Caldwell family's lawyer, Aamer Anwar, Margaret Caldwell said she wanted to thank the first minister and justice secretary for meeting her.

"The first minister promised that he will give primary consideration to the family's demands for a statutory public inquiry, and the justice secretary - Angela Constance - will update parliament within days on their decision," the statement said.

"Since the murder of Emma Caldwell in 2005, many in the police will argue things have changed significantly. We do not accept this. In 2023 Sir Iain Livingstone whilst chief constable of Police Scotland spoke of the misogyny within the police service.

"We know that evidence exists that the abduction, rape and murder of Emma Caldwell and the subsequent rapes of women might have been prevented or at least disrupted had allegations against Packer been properly investigated," he added.

The family's lawyer Aamar Anwer read a statement from Emma's mother outside Bute House

Mr Anwer said the Caldwells are angry at newspaper reports that the Crown Office had concluded there was "insufficient evidence of criminality on the part of any police officer involved in the investigation of Emma Caldwell's murder."

He said such a conclusion is "insulting to the family" and contrasted sharply with the evidence presented by former police officers, that they were told to investigate four Turkish men rather than Iain Packer.

The case against the four men collapsed in 2008.

Emma Caldwell murder was one of Scotland's best known unsolved cases

Mr Anwar said the family hoped the first minister will now commit to "a robust and independent public inquiry on the catastrophic failures in the Emma Caldwell case."

"We appreciate that the government will seek the views of the Lord Advocate and chief constable, whom we will also meet over the next two days, but they cannot be allowed to investigate themselves," he said.

"Margaret Caldwell wants more than words of condolences or apologies- she believes an immediate public inquiry must be ordered anything less would be a betrayal of Emma Caldwell and the 22 other women who evidence heard at trial.

"Margaret and her family are deeply grateful to the first minister and justice secretary, and hope there will finally be legacy of Emma Caldwell," he added.

Ministers 'open' to inquiry

Justice Secretary Angela Constance thanked the family for the meeting and expressed ministers' sorrow at the family's loss.

"There is no doubt they were let down, so it is right that Police Scotland has apologised for the failures of the original investigation. The first minister and I discussed Margaret's call for a judge-led public inquiry and, as the first minister made clear last week, we are very open to this," she said.

"He was also clear that we wanted to meet with Emma's family and hear their views directly before making any decisions.

"We will now seriously reflect on today's discussion and give the family's calls for a judge-led public inquiry primary consideration as we consider next steps. We have told the family we will take a quick decision and inform parliament when we do so." she added.

You can watch Catching a Killer: The Murder of Emma Caldwell on iPlayer now.

You can listen to the podcast series Who Killed Emma? on BBC Sounds.