Emma Caldwell Family Meets Officials Amid Public Inquiry 📢

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.