A serial rapist who was jailed for life for the murder of Emma Caldwell has failed in an attempt to reduce his prison sentence.
Iain Packer, 51, was in February ordered to serve a minimum of 36 years behind bars after being convicted of a string of violent offences.
Alongside double-murderer Andrew Innes, it is the second longest sentence ever handed down by a Scottish court, behind the 37-year minimum jail term given to World’s End killer Angus Sinclair in 2014.
As well as the 2005 murder of Ms Caldwell, 27, Packer was also found guilty of 11 charges of rape against nine women and 21 other crimes following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
Image: Emma Caldwell. Pic: Family handout
At the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh on Wednesday, lawyers for Packer argued Lord Beckett’s sentence was “excessive”.
Defence advocate Gordon Jackson KC told judges Lady Dorrian, Lord Matthews and Lady Wise: “I ask if it is acceptable in a civilised society that we say to a man in his 50s that he will not be released – regardless of what happens – until he is in his 80s?
“I say it is not. I say that in a civilised society… we should not be doing that.”
After conferring with colleagues, Lady Dorrian ruled the appeal refused.
A written judgment explaining the decision will be issued in the near future.
Image: Margaret Caldwell with lawyer Aamer Anwar, centre, alongside other family members on the steps of Bute House. Pic: PA
Aamer Anwar, the solicitor acting on behalf of Ms Caldwell’s mother Margaret, said: “Mr Packer evaded justice for nearly 19 years but will die a convicted killer and serial rapist.
“Packer’s name will one day turn to dust, long after Emma’s name lives on.
“Had it not been for Margaret Caldwell’s tireless campaigning, then any hope of justice would have been buried forever.”
Image: Pic: PA
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.
Image: During Packer’s trial, jurors were taken to the forest where Ms Caldwell’s body was dumped. Pic: Sky News
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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.
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Police interviewing Packer following his arrest over Ms Caldwell’s murder
Following Packer’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.
Police Scotland apologised to Ms Caldwell’s family and Packer’s other victims for how the original inquiry was handled by what was then Strathclyde Police, saying they were “let down”.
Mr Anwar stated Packer is “now irrelevant to the Caldwell family” as he continued their calls for the inquiry judge to be from outside Scotland’s jurisdiction.
The lawyer added: “For far too long those responsible for gifting a killer his freedom have remained in the shadows, but they must face the glare of public scrutiny, the only forum for that will be before a statutory judge-led public inquiry.
“There should be no hiding place for those who perverted the course of justice, the victims of Packer deserve nothing less.”
A 15-year-old boy who was operated on twice by a now unlicensed Great Ormond Street surgeon is living with “continuous” pain.
Finias Sandu has been told by an independent review the procedures he underwent on both his legs were “unacceptable” and “inappropriate” for his age.
The teenager from Essex was born with a condition that causes curved bones in his legs.
Aged seven, a reconstructive procedure was carried out on Finias’s left leg, lengthening the limb by 3.5cm.
A few years later, the same operation was carried out on his right leg which involved wearing an invasive and heavy metal frame for months.
He has now been told by independent experts these procedures should not have taken place and concerns have been raised over a lack of imaging being taken prior to the operations.
Image: Yaser Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence last year. Pic: LinkedIn
His doctor at London’s prestigious Great Ormond Street Hospital was former consultant orthopaedic surgeon Yaser Jabbar. Sky News has spoken to others he treated.
Mr Jabbar also did not arrange for updated scans or for relevant X-rays to be conducted ahead of the procedures.
The surgeries have been found to have caused Finias “harm” and left him in constant pain.
“The pain is there every day, every day I’m continuously in pain,” he told Sky News.
“It’s not something really sharp, although it does get to a certain point where it hurts quite a lot, but it’s always there. It just doesn’t leave, it’s a companion to me, just always there.”
Mr Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence in January last year after working at Great Ormond Street between 2017 and 2022.
The care of his 700-plus patients is being assessed, with some facing corrective surgery, among them Finias.
“Trusting somebody is hard to do, knowing what they have done to me physically and emotionally, you know, it’s just too much to comprehend for me,” he said.
“It wasn’t something just physically, like my leg pain and everything else. It was emotionally, because I put my trust in that specific doctor. My parents and I don’t really understand the more scientific terms, we just went by what he said.”
Doctors refused to treat Finias because of his surgeries
Finias and his family relocated to their native Romania soon after the reconstructive frame was removed from his right leg in the summer of 2021.
The pain worsened and they sought advice from doctors in Romania, who refused to treat Finias because of the impact of his surgeries.
Dozens of families seeking legal claims
His mother Cornelia Sandu is “furious” and feels her trust in the hospital has been shattered. They are now among dozens of families seeking legal claims.
Cyrus Plaza from Hudgell Solicitors is representing the family. He said: “In cases where it has been identified that harm was caused, we want to see Great Ormond Street Hospital agreeing to pay interim payments of compensation for the children, so that if they need therapy or treatment now, they can access it.”
Finias is accessing therapy and mental health support as he prepares for corrective surgery later in the year.
A spokesperson for Great Ormond Street Hospital told Sky News: “We are deeply sorry to Finias and his family, and all the patients and families who have been impacted.
“We want every patient and family who comes to our hospital to feel safe and cared for. We will always discuss concerns families may have and, where they submit claims, we will work to ensure the legal process can be resolved as quickly as possible.”
Image: Finias with his mother and sister
Service not ‘safe for patients’
Sky News has attempted to contact Mr Jabbar.
An external review into the wider orthopaedic department at the hospital began in September 2022.
It was commissioned after the Royal College of Surgeons warned the hospital’s lower limb reconstruction service was not “safe for patients or adequate to meet demand”.
The investigation is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Sir Keir Starmer has said closer ties with the EU will be good for the UK’s jobs, bills and borders ahead of a summit where he could announce a deal with the bloc.
The government is set to host EU leaders in London on Monday as part of its efforts to “reset” relations post-Brexit.
A deal granting the UK access to a major EU defence fund could be on the table, according to reports – but disagreements over a youth mobility scheme and fishing rights could prove to be a stumbling block.
The prime minister has appeared to signal a youth mobility deal could be possible, telling The Times that while freedom of movement is a “red line”, youth mobility does not come under this.
His comment comes after Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said on Friday work on a defence deal was progressing but “we’re not there yet”.
Sir Keir met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen later that day while at a summit in Albania.
Image: Ursula von der Leyen and Sir Keir had a brief meeting earlier this week. Pic: PA
Sir Keir said: “First India, then the United States – in the last two weeks alone that’s jobs saved, faster growth and wages rising.
“More money in the pockets of British working people, achieved through striking deals not striking poses.
“Tomorrow, we take another step forward, with yet more benefits for the United Kingdom as the result of a strengthened partnership with the European Union.”
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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she is “worried” about what the PM might have negotiated.
Ms Badenoch – who has promised to rip up the deal with the EU if it breaches her red lines on Brexit – said: “Labour should have used this review of our EU trade deal to secure new wins for Britain, such as an EU-wide agreement on Brits using e-gates on the continent.
“Instead, it sounds like we’re giving away our fishing quotas, becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again and getting free movement by the back door. This isn’t a reset, it’s a surrender.”
Roman Lavrynovych appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday and was remanded in custody.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command led the investigation because of the connections to the prime minister.
Emergency services were called to a fire in the early hours of Monday at a house in Kentish Town, north London, where Sir Keir lived with his family before the election.