The Family of Emma Caldwell leave Parliament after their meeting with the First Minister and Justice Secretary.
The family of murdered sex worker Emma Caldwell will met with the First Minister John Swinney and Justice Secretary Angela Constance at the Scottish Parliament ahead of an announcement regarding the public inquiry. Margaret Caldwell and her son Jamie Caldwell will arrive with their lawyer Aamer Anwar , April Meechan and legal team
Emma Caldwell was 27 years old when she was murdered in 2005 by serial rapist Iain Packer.
After nearly two decades of evading justice, Packer was finally convicted in 2024 and was found guilty of 33 charges involving 22 women, including Emma’s murder and 11 counts of rape.
The family successfully called for independent judge led public inquiry into what went wrong.
For the last year there has been an impasse because the family wanted a judge from outside the Scottish Jurisdiction.
Today the family are grateful to Scottish Government and especially the new Lord President, Lord Pentland in reaching a pragmatic solution.
The major concern of the Caldwell family was that the Police and the Crown Office cannot be trusted to investigate themselves or their former superiors.
The family believed the scale of the crimes, the allegations of corruption or misconduct levelled at senior police officers and crown lawyers are so catastrophic that only an independent judge outside of the Scottish justice system would suffice.
However, an agreement has been reached today with the appointment of Lord John Scott.
Lord Scott is respected for his formidable reputation in fighting for human rights prior to being appointed a Scottish judge.
The family wanted a judge who could be trusted to act without fear or favour and shine a glaring spotlight into the heart of policing and the crown office in Scotland.
Margaret Caldwell hopes that Lord Scott will be that judge.
However, in our meeting with the First Minister on behalf of the family, I warned that no law officer in Crown Office or senior police officers can be allowed to dictate the terms of reference or attempt evade accountability.
The family of murdered sex worker Emma Caldwell will met with the First Minister John Swinney and Justice Secretary Angela Constance at the Scottish Parliament ahead of an announcement regarding the public inquiry. Margaret Caldwell and her son Jamie Caldwell will arrive with their lawyer Aamer Anwar , April Meechan and legal team
Emma Caldwell was 27 years old when she was murdered in 2005 by serial rapist Iain Packer.
After nearly two decades of evading justice, Packer was finally convicted in 2024 and was found guilty of 33 charges involving 22 women, including Emma’s murder and 11 counts of rape.
The family successfully called for independent judge led public inquiry into what went wrong.
For the last year there has been an impasse because the family wanted a judge from outside the Scottish Jurisdiction.
Today the family are grateful to Scottish Government and especially the new Lord President, Lord Pentland in reaching a pragmatic solution.
The major concern of the Caldwell family was that the Police and the Crown Office cannot be trusted to investigate themselves or their former superiors.
The family believed the scale of the crimes, the allegations of corruption or misconduct levelled at senior police officers and crown lawyers are so catastrophic that only an independent judge outside of the Scottish justice system would suffice.
However, an agreement has been reached today with the appointment of Lord John Scott.
Lord Scott is respected for his formidable reputation in fighting for human rights prior to being appointed a Scottish judge.
The family wanted a judge who could be trusted to act without fear or favour and shine a glaring spotlight into the heart of policing and the crown office in Scotland.
Margaret Caldwell hopes that Lord Scott will be that judge.
However, in our meeting with the First Minister on behalf of the family, I warned that no law officer in Crown Office or senior police officers can be allowed to dictate the terms of reference or attempt evade accountability.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00My name is Amir Amwar, I'm a solicitor acting on behalf of the Emma Caldwell family.
00:04Emma Caldwell was 27 years old when she was murdered in 2005 by serial rapist Ian Packer.
00:11After nearly two decades of evading justice, Packer was finally convicted in 2024 and was found guilty of 33 charges involving 22 women, including Emma's murder and 11 counts of rape.
00:23The family successfully called for an independent judge-led public inquiry into what went wrong.
00:28For the last year there has been an impasse because the family wanted a judge from outwith the Scottish jurisdiction.
00:35Today the family are grateful to the Scottish Government and especially the new Lord President Lord Pentland in reaching a pragmatic solution.
00:43The major concern of the Caldwell family was that the police and the Crown Office cannot be trusted to investigate themselves or their former superiors.
00:52The family believed that the scale of the crimes, the allegations of corruption or misconduct levelled at senior police officers and Crown lawyers are so catastrophic that only an independent judge outside the Scottish justice system would have sufficed.
01:08However, today an agreement has been reached with the appointment of Lord John Scott.
01:13Lord John Scott is respected for his formidable reputation in fighting for human rights prior to be appointed a Scottish judge.
01:20The family wanted the judge who could be trusted to act without fear or favour and shine a glaring spotlight into the heart of policing and the Crown Office in Scotland.
01:31Margaret Colwell hopes that Lord Scott will be that judge.
01:34However, in our meeting with the First Minister on behalf of the family, I warned that no law officer in Crown Office or senior police officer can be allowed to dictate the terms of reference of this public inquiry or attempt to evade accountability.
01:51As for police officers who have brought shame on their uniform or lawyers within Crown Office who betrayed their duty to protect life or stand accused of sabotaging the case against Ian Packer, those officers and lawyers have blood on their hands and must now face accountability.
02:07There were also honest police officers who right at the start said that Ian Packer was the killer, yet their lives were also destroyed.
02:17They also deserve truth and justice.
02:20A toxic culture of misogyny and police corruption freed a killer to rape and rape again.
02:26The many women who spoke up during the trial and those who were unable to also deserve truth and justice.
02:32I want to pay tribute to Margaret Colwell, who as a grieving mother has refused to be silenced.
02:39Had it not been for her, the case of Emma would have been buried forever.
02:43No woman, no matter her job, status, vulnerabilities or addictions, should have to accept sexual violence and be denied justice.
02:52Today for a mother, the Emma Colwell public inquiry is a chance of a legacy and of hope for all victims of sexual violence and misogyny.
03:01Margaret hopes that her daughter Emma's name will live on long after a killer's name has turned to dust.