Police must be held to account

EMMA Caldwell’s family demanded an independent inquiry into the botched murder probe last night.

- MARK McGIVERN

Their lawyer blasted: “How many women have to die or be raped before our police service and criminal justice system is held to account?”

Aamer Anwar lashed out after a tense meeting between Humza Yousaf and Emma’s mum Margaret in Edinburgh.

The meeting was also attended by Scottish Justice Minister Angela Constance, who will report to the Scottish Parliament “within days”.

Constance last night said Yousaf was “very open” to consideration of a public inquiry.

Anwar angrily denounced claims policing has changed since the murder in 2015, which led to years of blunders, allegedly driven by institutional misogyny.

He said: “ We welcome the public statements of Humza Yousaf on tackling misogyny and violence against women, and we hope he will now commit to a robust and independent public inquiry on the catastrophic failures in the Emma Caldwell case.

“We appreciate that the Government will seek the views of the Lord Advocate and Chief Constable, whom we will also meet over the next two days but they cannot be allowed to investigate themselves.

“Both institutions of Crown Office and the police must answer why one of the worst sex offenders in the UK was gifted his freedom for some 17 years.”