case and public inquiry into emma's case and that we would take a decision only after we had heard directly from margaret caldwell and her family. following that meeting with the caldwell family, i can today announce that there will be an independent, judge led, statutory public inquiry and preparations will begin immediately. i have not taken this decision lightly. i recognise that a statutory public inquiry is a very significant undertaking and it will take time to set up, to hear evidence and to reach its findings. nonetheless, given the gravity of this case, the length of time that it took for justice to be this case, the length of time that it took forjustice to be served, the horrific extent of the sexual violence suffered by the victims and survivors and the suffering endured by the families, the case for holding a public inquiry is clear and compelling. it is time to apply

fresh scrutiny to this case, to understand what went wrong to ensure that lessons are learned for the future. and to provide answers to all victims and survivors in this case. i have asked my officials to start immediate preparatory work to set up the inquiry. as part of that work, they will explore different options for who would lead to such an inquiry. after discussing this with the family, we are in agreement that what is most important is that the person who leads the inquiry has the person who leads the inquiry has the confidence of the family, understand their trauma and has the necessary expertise to lead an inquiry of this nature and importance. this includes looking at judiciary within and outwith scotland. to be clear, i have faith and confidence in the independence and confidence in the independence and integrity of the scottish judiciary. however, there is some

president in looking beyond scotland for a chair president in looking beyond scotland fora chairand at president in looking beyond scotland for a chair and at this stage it is important to explore every option. as an intimation of intention to appeal has been launched in this case, i cannot go into any further details today. however, i do commit to updating parliament when all legal proceedings in the case are at an end and when we have appointed a chair. and we will work alongside the chair and the family in setting and agreeing terms of reference. presiding officer, i welcome police scotland's statement that time is no barrier to justice and to support their call for anyone who has been a victim of sexual violence to come forward and to speak to them, no matter when the offences took place. we must go further and faster in order to eradicate the scourge of violence against women, tackling the root causes. that means focusing on

challenging misogyny and the toxic masculinity that underpins this behaviour. it means we need to champion and address gender inequality. it means when those unacceptable behaviours turning to violence and abuse, we must ensure that men and the perpetrator is almost always a man, that they are held to account for their actions and brought tojustice. our equally safe strategy sets out these priority areas and details the approach we are taking to prevent and tackle violence against women and tackle violence against women and girls, focusing on early prevention and support services. presiding officer, as part of my role in progressing the women's victims justice reform role in progressing the women's victimsjustice reform bill, i have heard from many victims and survivors that for them, the justice system is distressing and disempowering. women and girls have told government and the criminal justice committee that their experiences of the justice system

have been worse than the crime itself. this is completely unacceptable and must be addressed. it is why i would urge those in the chamber to look at the proposals in the bill and the reforms we want to drive forward, so that we have a justice system that works for sexual defence complaints. a consistent and robust response throughout the justice system, from initial complaint to the end of any trial is critical in our efforts to prevent violence against women and girls. we must all do better to support those courageous women who speak up and to all the women and girls in our country who feel that they don't have a voice. including those that are on the margins of society through trauma or addiction who need us, that they also will be heard. presiding officer, let me finish where i began. to the caldwell

family, no matter what i say today or announce in this chamber, it will not be enough to respond to your loss and tragedy. but i, this government, and i very much believe, this parliament wanted to do everything we can and so, for you, margaret, for william, for your family and for women and girls across this country, but most of all, for emma, i am pleased to tell parliament today that there will be a public inquiry. and i will continue to give all that i have two eradicate violence against women and girls across this country, so that no one has to endure what you have endured. but i want to leave margaret with the final words today, which she shared with me earlier, presiding officer. my daughter, emma, and the many victims who so courageously spoke up deserve nothing less than a robust, independent public inquiry and a

judge who will act without fear or favour. there are those who say that such inquiries take too long, but my family has struggled for 19 years to getjustice. and we will wait, however long it takes, to see the truth. and we will accept nothing less. applause that was scotland's justice secretary, angela constance veijer, who has announced an investigation, a public inquiry to be held into the investigation of the murder of emma caldwell, which happened almost two decades ago. you could hear their emotion in angela constance's voice and the family of emma caldwell there watching, margaret caldwell, her mother, as you can see there, and let's go now straight to lorna gordon, who can take us through what

was said there. as i was saying, lorna,it was said there. as i was saying, lorna, it was particularly emotional, wasn't it, from thejustice secretary? wasn't it, from the justice secretary?— wasn't it, from the justice secreta ? , , ., ., ., secretary? yes, very emotional. anuela secretary? yes, very emotional. angela constance _ secretary? yes, very emotional. angela constance confirming - secretary? yes, very emotional. | angela constance confirming that there will be this public inquiry, investigating what went wrong with that original investigation looking into emma caldwell�*s murder. you know, she praised margaret caldwell, who as you saw there, was looking on as she made this announcement with herfamily alongside, as as she made this announcement with her family alongside, as well as her solicitor. she praised the courage and conviction of margaret caldwell and conviction of margaret caldwell and emma caldwell�*s family, she talked of her enduring and excruciating pain and near two decade long wait forjustice. and she confirmed that there will be

thisjudge she confirmed that there will be this judge led she confirmed that there will be thisjudge led public inquiry looking into the investigation into emma caldwell�*s murder. she said they will look both within and without scotland to find the appropriate individual to lead that inquiry. she said she had every confidence in the judiciary in scotland, but that they would cast their net wide and would, at this point in time, be streaming the terms of reference for such an inquiry because of course iain packer has lodged a notice of intent to appeal that life sentence for the murder of emma caldwell, and multiple other attacks against women in the glasgow area over close to three decade long period of time. this wasn't entirely unexpected today, but there have been these three meetings, first with

scotland's first minister earlier on this week, followed by a meeting with scotland's chief constable and then today scotland's lord advocate. after that meeting, the family issued a statement, saying that the lord advocate confirmed that in the coming days and external police force with no connection to key officers in this case will also be instructed to look at what happened backin instructed to look at what happened back in 2005 and the subsequent years. according to aamer anwar, margaret caldwell�*s solicitor, he said that dorothy bain, the lord advocate, confirmed there was an infant death significant sufficient evidence to prosecute iain packer backin evidence to prosecute iain packer back in 2008, but that for some reason, despite the police being instructed to reopen the investigation into him after a case against four turkish men who originally were charged with emma caldwell�*s murder, after that case

collapsed, the police were re—instructed to reopen that investigation, but aamer anwar re—instructed to reopen that investigation, but aameranwarsaid investigation, but aamer anwar said that investigation, but aameranwarsaid that never happened. so today the confirmation that there will be this judge led public inquiry, as well as an investigation of the police's actions at the time by an external police force with no connection to key officers in this case. find key officers in this case. and lorna, key officers in this case. and lorna. you — key officers in this case. and lorna, you mentioned - key officers in this case. and lorna, you mentioned the family there. we saw them in holyrood as well. what do you think their response will be to this investigation?- response will be to this investi . ation? ~ ~ ., ., investigation? well, margaret caldwell has _ investigation? well, margaret caldwell has been _ investigation? well, margaret. caldwell has been extraordinary. investigation? well, margaret- caldwell has been extraordinary. she has been dignified throughout. you know, every family's worst nightmare, that a child is taken from them. she spoke of how, when her daughter disappeared, her and emma's father used to search the streets trying to find her. she has

taken a public role in this long fight to see justice for her daughter, who was murdered two decades ago. and then these three key important meetings this week with these senior figures in the police, the legal establishment and the political sphere here in scotland to continue pushing for this public inquiry. police scotland last week, when iain packer was convicted and then sentenced, apologised for the actions of strathclyde police at the time. they say, emma, herfamily and other victims were let down. but they deserved better. they said, procedures and protocols have changed since then, but margaret caldwell has pushed for this robust, independent, public inquiry that she has said she wanted to act without fear or favour. has said she wanted to act without fear orfavour. and has said she wanted to act without fear or favour. and today the justice secretary acceded to those

demands. ., ., ,., ., justice secretary acceded to those demands. ., ., ., ., demands. 0k. lorna gordon, a scotland correspondent, - demands. 0k. lorna gordon, a scotland correspondent, they l demands. 0k. lorna gordon, a l scotland correspondent, they are demands. 0k. lorna gordon, a - scotland correspondent, they are in glasgow, thank you very much indeed. as lorna was saying, iain packer was found guilty of the murder of emma caldwell just found guilty of the murder of emma caldwelljust over a week ago. five years ago, an investigative reporter with bbc scotland, sam poling, carried out interviews with iain packer, which played a big part in his trial as evidence of his lies. this is her report after the conviction. this is iain packer about to be confronted by me in 2019. i don't believe you have been telling me the truth. we discovered evidence he was a prolific sexual predator, a violent rapist and a killer. did you kill emma?— violent rapist and a killer. did you kill emma?_ emma i kill emma? no, i never. emma caldwell's_ kill emma? no, i never. emma caldwell's killer. _ kill emma? no, i never. emma caldwell's killer. i _ kill emma? no, i never. emma caldwell's killer. i said - kill emma? no, i never. emma caldwell's killer. i said no, - kill emma? no, i never. emma caldwell's killer. i said no, i- kill emma? no, i never. emma| caldwell's killer. i said no, i can only deny _ caldwell's killer. i said no, i can only deny it _ caldwell's killer. i said no, i can only deny it and _ caldwell's killer. i said no, i can only deny it and say _ caldwell's killer. i said no, i can only deny it and say i _ caldwell's killer. i said no, i can only deny it and say i did - caldwell's killer. i said no, i can only deny it and say i did not. caldwell's killer. i said no, i can l only deny it and say i did not have had nothing to do with it whatsoever. mil had nothing to do with it whatsoever.— had nothing to do with it whatsoever. �* , , , ., whatsoever. all eyes. this video was used in evidence _ whatsoever. all eyes. this video was used in evidence in _ whatsoever. all eyes. this video was used in evidence in court _ whatsoever. all eyes. this video was used in evidence in court against - used in evidence in court against him. the verdict, guilty. but why

did it take so long? the bbc can reveal that information linking iain packer to emma's murder was available to police from the start. detectives who worked on the inquiry in 2005 have broken their silence. the girls were describing this guy who would go up and regularly use prostitutes, he would be particularly rough with him, they would _ particularly rough with him, they would all— particularly rough with him, they would all identify him as someone they knew. would all identify him as someone the knew. ., ., ., they knew. that someone was iain packer. police _ they knew. that someone was iain packer. police would _ they knew. that someone was iain packer. police would speak - they knew. that someone was iain packer. police would speak to - they knew. that someone was iain packer. police would speak to iain| packer. police would speak to iain packer. police would speak to iain packer six times between 2005 and 2007. the evidence against him, these officers say, was undeniable. iain packer admitted to taking women into the woods for six. he admitted to taking emma there. he even directed the police to the crime scene and various women identified iain packer as a violent rapist who had attacked emma in the months prior to her death. yet senior

officers repeatedly dismissed him as a suspect. find officers repeatedly dismissed him as a susect. �* ., ., ., a suspect. and i am told that point, dave , a suspect. and i am told that point, davey. when _ a suspect. and i am told that point, davey. when you — a suspect. and i am told that point, davey, when you get _ a suspect. and i am told that point, davey, when you get iain _ a suspect. and i am told that point, davey, when you get iain packer - a suspect. and i am told that point, | davey, when you get iain packer and bring him in, it doesn't matter what he tells you. doesn't matter what he tells you. he won't be accused ever in this case. tells you. he won't be accused ever in this case-— in this case. instead, those senior officers spent _ in this case. instead, those senior officers spent millions _ in this case. instead, those senior officers spent millions wrongly - officers spent millions wrongly pursuing four turkish men for emma's murder. when that case collapsed, the inquiry went cold. we asked police scotland for a statement. they said this... let's bring you a reminder of that breaking news, but a public inquiry is to be held on to the police

investigation of the murder of emma caldwell, who was murdered almost two decades ago. scotland'sjustice secretary, angela constance, was announcing that. let's give you a reminder, it was 51—year—olds iain packer was given a life sentence and ordered to serve a minimum of 36 years in prison for emma caldwell's murder. emma vanished in april 2005, her body found the following month in south lanarkshire. her death in 2005 was one of scotland's longest running unsolved murders. you are watching bbc news. fora running unsolved murders. you are watching bbc news. for a second term as commission president. the final decision will be made following the european parliament elections injune. ursula von der leyen said the war in ukraine, the crisis in gaza and the rise in china which key challenges. state media in iran says several people have been

killed at an explosion in an oil refinery in the south of the country. one of the surviving furnaces in this city have were said to have caught fire. several people were injured in the blast. the refinery is one of the biggest in iran. malaysia's prime minister has warned against attempt to block china... will come back to that, i want to take you straight to berlin because lord cameron and his counterpart are speaking. she speaks in german. don't worry, it hasn't escaped our

attention that is not happening in english at the moment. so while we wait for a translation and wait for lord cameron to speak, we willjust leave that there will be moment. but we will come back to it. this is a press conference that is happening in berlin right now because angelina bear bock, who can see there, the german foreign minister, and the uk foreign minister, lord cameron, are speaking, updating the foreign media after the talks they have had today, strategic talks about defence cooperation and a couple of key topics on the agenda, they have been talking about ukraine and the need to support the ukrainian military with more weaponry and training, they are going to update us on the conversations about that and also the situation in gaza as well. we know they have been discussing the war in gaza and talking about in particular something which lord cameron has been speaking about in

recent days. talks as well to... and israeli minister when he was there yesterday to get more aid into gaza to help the population there. we will speak to our correspondent who is injerusalem on that very soon, but for now, while we wait for a translation of this speech, it is hard to know, actually, how long to listen to this part because at any moment i know that lord cameron will also start to make his statement and that will be in english. of course, these are important details where we are waiting to hear. this is the second of these strategic dialogues that have been happening between the uk and germany, and we heard earlier from our correspondent, james waterhouse, in ukraine, in kyiv, who was saying how important conversations like this one arm. i think we have now got some canned

translation. let's listen. translation: . .. translation. let's listen. translationz... by rockets. and this is something that happens with a purpose. it is putin who targets these houses in which people sit down for dinner. houses are being shelled, buildings bombarded, where people try to live their lives, watching television, for example. time and again, houses are being sheued time and again, houses are being shelled where people are, let's say, changing the nappies of their baby. what he does is to target an entire people. for more than two years, the ukrainians have been, the most ardent wish of the ukrainians has been to live a life in peace. and this has been our desire, which also we want to see peace restored, for the people to be able to live in peace, just like us. however, the peak condition —— the precondition

of peace is that the killing has to finally end. you cannot make peace with someone holding a gun to your head. those of us who want peace, those who want to put an end to this targeted war of destruction and annihilation have to do whatever he or she can to provide ukraine with the means it needs to defend itself. those who ignore this, who ignore the fact that this is a war of annihilation, those who do not realise that we have to immobilise all means at our disposal in order to allow ukraine to defend itself, will be neglecting their duties. what do i mean by this? in concrete terms, what is needed is more diminishing, more defence, more long—range weapon so as to allow ukraine to defend itself and to ensure it survives. we have been working together for two years now closely. every day in the european union, with our most important partners like the united kingdom.

0ur partners like the united kingdom. our objective being that ukraine can, just like us, finally live a life in peace. at the same time, we are looking towards the economic reconstruction, of ukraine, humanitarian aid for ukraine. what people need to be able to survive, the economic reconstruction of the country. this is a simple pillar of the work of the two countries we represent and also our partners, apart from providing military support for ukraine. with the ukraine recovery conference we hosted last year, you have planted a very important pillar and i am pleased to be able to announce that we will host the conference injune this year. it will take place in berlin. we will continue the good work started by the united kingdom to highlight that also in humanitarian terms ukraine will not

be able to, putin will not be able to break ukraine. it is about resilience, about civilian resilience. as long as we stand by the side of ukraine, and this will be for as long as it takes, putin will not succeed. as we have come to experience over the last few days once again, put in's aim is also to sow dissent and to destabilise our democracies. we stand up to this in a spirit of determination and unity, for we will not be intimidated by putin. so as to ensure that every inch of our nato territory remain safe and secure, we will invest in our deterrence and our ability to defend ourselves. what is at stake here is nothing less than our security and our freedom. here is nothing less than our security and ourfreedom. the security and ourfreedom. the security and ourfreedom. the security and freedom of europe. a strong europe, with the united

kingdom, is a strong pillar of the transatlantic bridge, regardless of who may be standing at the other side of the bridge. we will demonstrate that stance of unity when we meet again in washington on the occasion of the nato summit in july. and we have talked about this, amongst others, today. of course, we have also had an equally extensive and intensive discussion about the situation in the middle east, the suffering in gaza becomes more terrible with every passing day. and it is extremely hard to put the suffering of the people into words. we are looking at their emaciated faces. we see the sheer desperation of fathers and mothers who are fighting over the last sack of flour, putting their own lives at risk. not only do we see these things, but we put ourselves in their shoes, things, but we put ourselves in theirshoes, imagining things, but we put ourselves in their shoes, imagining these kids being our children, needing urgently the food to be able to survive. but

we are now not only loading lorries, but also ships and aircraft with humanitarian aid, although that is much more complicated, it illustrates that via the land route we are not able to get enough aid into gaza. we have underlined the need for us to do more. the israeli government has to urgently open more crossings into gaza for humanitarian aid deliveries. and it has to ensure that the food gets where it is needed. it is their responsibility. and because each and every individual package of aid counts, we are working with our european partners in the region, especially the united arab emirates, to set up a humanitarian corridor to gaza. and we have been supporting jordan in the world food programme, allowing them to fill their aircraft and to ensure that they can airdrop aid into gaza. this, as i said, it's not the most efficient way of going

about it, but in view of the fact that the border crossings are not open but we all need to we want to avoid complete collapse and what we have seen collapsing is public order in gaza. and that has made it very clear that we cannot continue the same vein. we both send out an urgent appeal today, on behalf of the united kingdom and germany, and we say we urgently need to agree on an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. we need a breakthrough in the negotiations. it is always painful to engage in compromise, but the hostages must finally be allowed to leave the dark tunnels of hamas. they must be released and more aid has to go into gaza. and the killing in gaza has to stop. that hamas has been refusing for weeks to release the hostages is a clear impression of who we are talking to. these are

terrorists. and those who still find it hard to call these people by their names and to call a spade a spade, i appeal to them and say, imaginejust for a minute spade, i appeal to them and say, imagine just for a minute that these children where your children being forced to live in dark cellars and tunnels, held hostage and prisoner ljy tunnels, held hostage and prisoner by hamas. this is a dilemma, as has become obvious, because we had to note that the settlement policy pursued by israel continues to pour oil on the fire, on the already fragile security situation. and we will only be able to get away from this conflict if we finally talk about long—term perspectives to solve the middle east conflict. this is why i want to be very clear in

saying that the decision that the israeli government took yesterday to set up further new settlements is illegal, unacceptable and has to be retracted. it constitutes an impediment on the path towards peace and it is not and cannot be in the interests of the security of israel. apart from these major crises of the world that we have talked about today, we of course also discussed bilateral issues. the strategic dialogue is designed for these issues and offers a platform that allows us to make our partnership fit for the future, for the benefit of people in both our countries, after brexit, and fully many people on both sides of the channel, things have become somewhat more complicated as a consequence of brexit. engaging in youth exchange are entering a work experience, studying abroad, engaging in academic research abroad. we cannot

turn back the clock, but what we can do is make the most of what we have got, especially in those areas that affect people to people contacts, and therefore what i am pleased that, as i said, and touching upon the major political issues, we have been able to talk about those things that are important for especially the young generation in our countries and that we were now swiftly address the issue of the list of travellers these are schemes to make it easierfor groups of pupils to visit the respective countries. ladies and gentlemen, dear david, the list of the topics we have discussed is long. as i said, we could have gone on for two or three days and wouldn't have been able to finish, but i would like to thank you for the discussion today. next time you come to germany, hopefully we will leave those conference rooms for a moment and perhaps be able to cheer on our respective teams to watch a match of the european football championship and maybe better team, in the same

spirit that we have demonstrated, win, but friendship stops where sports begins. but i look forward to welcoming you back in berlin soon. thank you very much indeed. weill. thank you very much indeed. well, ma be thank you very much indeed. well, maybe better _ thank you very much indeed. well, maybe better team _ thank you very much indeed. well, maybe better team win, _ thank you very much indeed. well, maybe better team win, but - thank you very much indeed. well, maybe better team win, but not on penalties, i think we can all agree about that! thank you very much for the warm welcome, annalena baerbock, it is a real privilege to be back in berlin and with you, having the strategic dialogue. can i say how much i welcome the partnership that we are forming? you speak with such strength about ukraine, you speak with great moral clarity about what is happening in the middle east and it is a real privilege to be working with you. although it is only going to be for a very short time, i think we are proving to be very strong allies, very strong partners and good friends, and that is as it should be. berlin back in the early 19905. i should be. berlin back in the early 1990s. i even found a picture of myself hacking the remnants of the wall that had by then come down and

i am looking forward to revisiting that spot with you today. as prime minister, i visited germany 12 times, as a sign of how much i value this relationship and what a vital partnership there is between britain and germany. 0ne partnership there is between britain and germany. one of my favourite visits was when her late majesty the queen came on one of her many visits to germany and i was able to accompany her and saw in what i regard she was held here. i was delighted to see that his majesty the king's first state visit was here to germany, showing he wants to carry on his mother's incredible work in building relations between our two countries. this is my second visit to germany in the three and a half months i've been doing thisjob and i hope we have shown that this british conservative, this german green are absolutely joined british conservative, this german green are absolutelyjoined up. we have already done a joint article in

the newspapers which really pioneered what