Family say police must answer ‘for betrayal’ after Iain Packer found guilty of strangling sex worker Emma Caldwell

Published

2 years ago

February 29, 2024

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The family of a murdered sex worker have said police “have blood on their hands” after a man was finally brought to justice despite earlier major investigation failings.

Former sign fitter Iain Packer, 51, was found guilty of what the jury heard was the “execution” of Emma Caldwell.

The 27-year-old, who spiralled into a life of heroin addiction after the sudden death of her sister, was lured from Glasgow’s red-light district, driven to remote woods 40 miles away, strangled and dumped naked in a ditch.

Packer was a habitual user of sex workers in Glasgow in the 1990s – and admitted to police in the initial 2005 investigation that he had previously paid to take Emma to the forest for sex.

He was not arrested or charged for 17 years as officers wrongly focused on a group of Turkish men.

Packer faced 36 charges involving offences against 25 women and denied all the allegations against him in court.

But, following a six-week trial at the High Court in Glasgow, he was convicted of 11 charges of rape against nine women among dozens of other offences.

In a family statement on behalf of Emma’s mother Margaret, read out on the court steps, the family solicitor Aamer Anwar said: “A toxic culture of misogyny and corruption meant the police failed so many women and girls who came forward to speak up against Packer – instead of receiving justice and compassion, they were humiliated, dismissed and in some instances arrested, while the police gifted freedom to an evil predator to rape and rape again.

“We now know Packer carried out rapes, sexual offences and assaults some 19 times after Emma’s murder in 2005.

“Margaret believes that officers sabotaged an investigation into Packer for a decade and have blood on their hands, for far too long they have remained in the shadows, but must now answer for their betrayal.”

The family have called for a public inquiry into failures by the authorities.

The solicitor added: “Whatever a woman’s job, whatever a woman’s status, wherever a woman’s addictions or vulnerabilities, it should never be used as a reason to ignore sexual violence or to treat them as second-class citizens.”

Emma’s mother Margaret told Sky News: “I feel as if I can breathe again that this man is gone.

“I hope he gets long enough [in jail] that he cannot harm anyone else.

“I did once ask them [the police] if they were biased because of what Emma did and they said it was like any other case. But they just wanted to get it over, put it in a drawer and forget about it.”

The 76-year-old is still haunted by the moment she learned her daughter had been killed after desperately trying to get her clean from drugs in the weeks before her death.

She said: “It is absolutely devastating. The pain… you felt like someone was punching you in the chest. Someone had actually taken your child’s life. It was awful.

“It is my daughter, and I am going to stand up for her. It didn’t make any difference to me what she did.”

A fresh set of cold case detectives re-examined the case in 2015 and they finally began to close in on Packer.

Sky News has learned other sex workers at the time raised concerns that Packer was sexually violent years before Ms Caldwell was killed.

The women, who have now rebuilt their lives, say they were ignored. One survivor was even arrested for prostitution after reporting Packer had attacked her.

They too say police have “blood on their hands” and could have halted Packer in his tracks, blocking him from killing Ms Caldwell.

Asked if she agreed that the former sex workers had come to the right conclusion about the police’s handling of the case, Margaret Caldwell said: “If it’s true that they know about Iain Packer and didn’t arrest him and didn’t deal with him, then yes.

“The first police investigation had gone wrong. I think they knew who it was quite early on in the investigation. And then it was shelved and nothing else was done about it.”

Margaret’s husband died from cancer before seeing justice for his daughter. He urged his loved ones to get to the truth in the moments before his death.

“I go on for Emma and my husband because he asked me to. They would both be urging me on and saying: ‘Well done mum’,” Margaret Caldwell said.

The family and their legal team are now pushing for the police officers involved in their original botched investigation to be brought back and questioned as part of an inquiry.

Following Packer’s conviction, Police Scotland issued an apology.

Assistant chief constable for major crime and public protection Bex Smith said: “Emma Caldwell, her family and many other victims, were let down by policing in 2005. For that we are sorry.

“A significant number of women and girls who showed remarkable courage to speak up at that time also did not get the justice and support they needed and deserved from Strathclyde Police.

“Police Scotland launched a reinvestigation of the case in 2015 after instruction from the Lord Advocate.

“It is clear that further investigations should have been carried out into Emma’s murder following the initial enquiry in 2005.

“The lack of investigation until 2015 caused unnecessary distress to her family and all those women who had come forward to report sexual violence.

“It is the courage, resilience and determination shown by Emma’s family, in particular her parents William and Margaret, and all those who survived Iain Packer’s horrific catalogue of offending that got us to where we are today.

“William is, sadly, no longer here to see this day, but I hope this verdict gives Margaret and all those affected by this case, the justice they deserve.”

ACC Smith said the reinvestigation was “without doubt the largest police enquiry of recent times in Scotland”.

More than 30,000 documents and statements were gathered and reviewed along with over 23,000 productions.

New forensic tests were carried out and new witnesses were identified and interviewed.

ACC Smith added: “We have reflected and learnt from the initial investigation and subsequent reinvestigation.

“Significant changes have been made in recent years to improve our organisational culture and our response, particularly in respect of investigative structures, victim care and processes to these types of crimes.

“Our Violence against Women and Girls Strategy demonstrates our absolute commitment to tackling the violence and abuse that disproportionately affects women and girls.

“What shone through to the enquiry team throughout the investigations into Emma’s life was her gentle personality, and I want to finish by saying that our thoughts remain with Emma, her family and all those affected by this terrible case.”

UK

Robert Best death: Women in court after man’s body found in Inverclyde field

Published

2 hours ago

November 19, 2025

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Robert Best death: Women in court after man's body found in Inverclyde field

Two women have appeared in court charged with attempting to defeat the ends of justice after a man was found dead in a field in Inverclyde.

The body of Robert Best, 50, was discovered near High Mathernock Farm, Kilmacolm, on the morning of 11 November.

He had been reported missing from Greenock the same day.

Dorothy Shields, 64, and Nicola Brisland, also known as Nicola Campbell, 41, were arrested and charged in connection with Mr Best’s death.

The pair appeared before Greenock Sheriff Court on Wednesday, where they made no plea to the charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

The suspects, both of Port Glasgow, were granted bail ahead of their next court appearance, which is yet to be confirmed.

Andrew Brodie, 51, and Stephen Shields, 44, have already appeared in court in connection with the case.

The pair have each been charged with murder and attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

The suspects, both of Greenock, made no plea to the two separate charges last week and were remanded in custody ahead of their next court appearance.

A 45-year-old man previously arrested in connection with assault and a 41-year-old man arrested at the same time as the two women have both been released pending further enquiries.

Police Scotland previously said officers investigating Mr Best’s death were carrying out enquiries into a report of a disturbance in Lansbury Street, Greenock, which took place between 11pm on 10 November and 3am on 11 November.

A force spokesperson said: “Enquiries are ongoing.”

UK

Illegal mountain of waste next to river ‘utterly appalling’, says PM

Published

3 hours ago

November 19, 2025

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Illegal mountain of waste next to river 'utterly appalling', says PM

Sir Keir Starmer has called the pile of fly-tipped illegal waste next to a river in Oxfordshire “utterly appalling” and said “all available powers” will be used to make those responsible cover the cost of the clean-up.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the pile of rubbish in a field beside the River Cherwell in Kidlington is now 150m long and up to 12m high, adding that water is “now lapping against the waste and carrying it into the river”.

Speaking at PMQs, Sir Ed said it is just one of many sites where organised criminal gangs are “illegally dumping their waste onto our countryside and getting away with it”.

“This is a shocking environmental emergency. So will he instruct the Environment Agency to clean it up now?” Sir Ed added.

Sir Keir responded in the House of Commons on Wednesday, calling the scenes “utterly appalling”.

The prime minister said: “A criminal investigation, as he knows, is under way. Specialist officers are tracking down those responsible.

“The Environmental Agency, in answer to this question, will use all available powers to make sure that the perpetrators cover the cost of the clean-up, which must now follow.”

Sir Keir added: “We have boosted the Environment Agency’s budget for tackling waste crime by 50%, giving councils new powers to seize and crush fly-tippers, vehicles and lawbreakers can now face up to five years in jail.”

Earlier this week, Calum Miller, Liberal Democrat MP for Bicester and Woodstock, said recent heavy rainfall brought by Storm Claudia at the weekend had made the situation more urgent, and meant the rubbish was slowly floating towards the river, which eventually flows through Oxford and feeds the Thames.

Mr Miller also told Sky News on Sunday it was the first time he had seen anything on this scale, questioning whether the Environmental Agency had the resources to deal with it.

The cost of removing the waste is estimated to be more than the entire annual budget of the local council, which is about £25m.

With the site on a floodplain, Mr Miller listed what he saw as the three major environmental risks – waste being washed into the waterways, rain seeping through the waste and carrying toxins into the water and the danger of decomposing chemicals presenting a fire risk.

The site is adjacent to the A34, a busy road running through cities including Oxford and Birmingham.

He said the police had used a helicopter with a heat-seeking camera, and could see that some of the waste was beginning to decompose.

Mr Miller said he believed the Environment Agency was first made aware of the issue back in July.

He said he believed it was the work of “organised criminal gangs” and raised a “bigger systemic problem around the country”, with “dumps are cropping up in more and more places”.

He added: “My concern is the Environmental Agency lacks the resources to deal with criminal activity on this scale. I’m calling on the government to take action and ensure those who are dealing with such incidents have the powers they need to tackle it at source.”

Anna Burns, the Environment Agency’s director for the Thames area, said on Wednesday: “Most of the tipping happened before we were aware of it. As soon as we were aware, we acted quickly and decisively.”

Ms Burns said: “We are pursuing this as a criminal investigation and currently following a number of leads, and we are laser focused on pursing that investigation.

“And we are working with partners to understand the risks associated with the site.”

She said the agency will pursue the perpetrators to make them pay for the “blight on the landscape” they had caused.

UK

Oasis fan fell to his death at Wembley in ‘tragic accident’, coroner’s court hears

Published

4 hours ago

November 19, 2025

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Oasis fan fell to his death at Wembley in 'tragic accident', coroner's court hears

An Oasis fan who fell to his death at Wembley Stadium was the victim of a “tragic accident”, a pre-inquest review has heard.

Bournemouth man Lee Claydon, 45, died following the incident at the London venue on 2 August.

Detective Sergeant James Raffin, from the Met Police, said there were “no concerns” from Mr Claydon’s toxicology report.

He also said that while Mr Claydon had drunk alcohol, this was “expected” and “normal for any of the people attending” the Oasis gig.

The force had also ruled out the possibility of suicide, he said.

He told Barnet Coroner’s Court the police had now completed their investigation into his death

He said: “From a police point of view, this is no longer a criminal prosecution.

“We do not suspect any third party involvement.

“This, from everything we have seen, was a tragic accident.

“From a police point of view, I would say our investigation is complete.”

DS Raffin said he was aware the family had concerns over the “circumstances on the night”, and said he would pass these on to officials at Brent Council.

The deceased’s father, Clive Claydon, 75, previously raised questions about barriers at the venue.

“It must have been horrific,” he said in August.

“All I know is there was beer everywhere, it’s slippery, he slipped apparently, we do not know the rest of it, there’s questions about the barriers.”

Brent Council will now review the police report.

Mr Claydon, a landscape gardener, fell during a gig that formed part of Oasis’ sell-out Live ’25 reunion tour – their first since splitting in 2009.

The inquest opening, which took place in September, heard that the father-of-three was taken to a medical centre in Wembley after the fall, where he was pronounced dead at 10.38pm.

A post-mortem examination on 6 August gave his preliminary medical cause of death as “multiple bodily injuries”.

Senior Coroner Andrew Walker told the review hearing the full inquest will take place on 26 February next year.

He said: “It looks like we are going to be in a position next February to have reports from the London Borough of Brent over the circumstances and also we will have by then the police investigation report.”

Oasis previously said in a statement: “We are shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic death of a fan at the show.

“Oasis would like to extend our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the person involved.”

In a statement at the time of the fall, a Wembley spokesperson said: “The stadium operates to a very high health and safety standard, fully meeting legal requirements for the safety of spectators and staff, and is certified to and compliant with the ISO 45001 standard.

“We work very closely and collaboratively with all relevant event delivery stakeholders – including event owners, local authorities, the Sports Grounds Safety Authority and the police – to deliver events to high standards of safety, security and service for everyone attending or working in the venue.”