The family of a woman who was murdered by a serial rapist more than 20 years ago said there must be “no attempt” to shut down evidence at the public inquiry into the police’s handling of the case, as they met the chairman for the first time.
Iain Packer murdered Emma Caldwell, 27, in 2005 and evaded justice for almost two decades.
In February 2024, he was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 36 years behind bars after being convicted of a string of violent offences.
Following the killer’s conviction, Sky News heard testimony from several former sex workers who raised concerns to police about his dangerous sexual behaviour years before Ms Caldwell was murdered.
The Scottish government subsequently ordered a judge-led public inquiry into the police handling of the case, with work ongoing ahead of future proceedings.
Margaret Caldwell, Ms Caldwell’s mother, has never given up on her pursuit of the truth and on Monday met inquiry chairman Lord Scott in Glasgow.
She was joined by her brother Jim Coyle, grandson Stewart McGrory, and the family’s solicitors Aamer Anwar and April Meechan.
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In a statement after, Mr Anwar said: “They welcomed the meeting and the empathy and compassion with which Lord Scott treated them. That is the very minimum the Caldwell family are entitled to expect.
“Lord Scott stated that Emma’s family will be key participants in the inquiry.
“Emma was 27 when she was murdered and her 47th birthday was on Saturday. She will never be forgotten.
“Over the years, many powerful men have made promises to Emma’s mother, Margaret, that have repeatedly been betrayed. The test of this inquiry will be whether it follows the evidence.”
Ms Caldwell vanished in April 2005 just days after telling her mother about her hopes to defeat a heroin addiction, which began after her sister’s death.
She went missing in Glasgow while working as a sex worker. Her body was discovered the following month in Limefield Woods, South Lanarkshire.
Investigating officers interviewed Packer that June but he was not convicted until almost two decades later after cold case detectives re-examined the case in 2015.
Packer was found guilty of 33 offences following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow, including Ms Caldwell’s murder, 11 rapes and multiple sexual assaults against other women.
Police Scotland apologised to Ms Caldwell’s family and his other victims for how the original inquiry was handled by what was then Strathclyde Police, saying they were “let down”.
The public inquiry will examine the investigative strategy and decision-making by Strathclyde Police, including the direction given by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).
It will probe what steps could reasonably have been taken that might have resulted in Packer being apprehended and prosecuted at an earlier stage, and any other factors relevant to the circumstances of the investigation and related prosecution.
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The inquiry will also examine if any failings in training, procedures, operating models or systems of working contributed to any failures in the police and COPFS case.
The subsequent findings and any recommendations will be reported to Scottish ministers.
Strathclyde Police ceased in April 2013 when it merged into the single national force of Police Scotland.
Mr Anwar said Ms Caldwell’s mother appreciates the inquiry’s terms of reference require to be broad enough to allow it to do its job, but is “deeply troubled” it may be used at a later date to potentially “avoid accountability”.
He stated: “The reference to ‘Strathclyde Police’ in the terms of reference may be interpreted by some to mean that the inquiry can only deal with the police force up until, but not beyond, when it became Police Scotland.
“If this inquiry is to pursue the truth, then it must look not only at Strathclyde Police, but what happened when Police Scotland took over responsibility.”
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Mr Anwar said many women “suffered unimaginable pain and fear” at the hands of Packer, who was “left free to rape and terrorise until his arrest in February 2022”.
He added: “Margaret has heard much lip service paid to this inquiry, but there must be no attempt by the chief constable, Police Scotland, and Crown Office to shut down the evidence.
“It is important to Margaret and Packer’s many survivors, as well as the honest police officers whose lives were destroyed, for this inquiry to begin as soon as possible.”
