A woman who was raped when she was 15 by Emma Caldwell’s killer Iain Packer is planning to sue police and prosecutors amid serious failings in the case and claims of a cover-up.
Magdalene Robertson said she heard ‘nothing for years’ from the force or the Crown after she bravely came forward to share details of the attacks Packer subjected her to.
She gave a statement to officers in 2006 – 16 months after Ms Caldwell’s body was found.
However, despite her testimony detailing Packer’s violent sexual nature and other evidence that linked him to Ms Caldwell’s murder, he evaded justice for almost 20 years.
Ms Robertson, 48, said she had no update until February 2018 when an officer called to tell her BBC Scotland was about to broadcast a programme about Ms Caldwell.
Magdalene Robertson says she was failed by police after reporting Iain Packer for rape and sexual assault just months after he murdered Emma Caldwell
Emma Caldwell who was murdered by Iain Packer in 2005
Now, following the decision to hold a public inquiry into the case, Ms Robertson has hit out at the mistakes that let Packer evade justice for so long.
She said: ‘I was shocked to find out from the BBC that, despite what I had been told, Packer had not been in for questioning about crimes including rape that I had reported in 2006. I was appalled.
‘My report of rape was too late to save Emma, but he committed so many more crimes and ruined other lives after I’d reported him.
‘He could have been stopped and Emma’s family could have had justice many years earlier.’
Ms Caldwell, 27, was killed by serial rapist Packer in 2005 but the botched initial probe meant that he was only convicted last month of her murder, as well as 32 other counts of violent abuse, including rape, against 22 women.
He was jailed for a minimum of 36 years – the second longest sentence in Scottish legal history.
Last week it emerged the Crown Office asked Strathclyde Police in 2008 to re-examine the case using new officers in the belief there was enough evidence to convict Packer. However, it wasn’t until 2015 that he was reinvestigated.
Ms Robertson, who has waived her right to anonymity, was assaulted by family friend Packer several times in 1990 and 1991.
She told family members but got no support, so she did not report the matter to police at that time.
In 2006, after Ms Caldwell’s murder, she found the courage to make a statement about Packer’s sexual abuse that started when she was 14 and included her rape at 15.
However, nothing more came of it at the time. Ms Robertson said: ‘I did not get a crime reference number and heard nothing for years.
The police state I had withdrawn co-operation regarding the assaults, but this is not true.
‘I first heard of this at a meeting with the Crown Office in April 2019. I have asked to see evidence of my withdrawing co-operation and been shown none.’
She also believes she was misled by prosecutors, though she accepts it might have been a case of them passing on information in good faith received from the police.
‘I was told Packer was interviewed about my complaint in 2010,’ she said. ‘I’ve been shown nothing to support it.’ The murder of Ms Caldwell was one of Scotland’s most high-profile cold cases.
In 2007 four Turkish men were charged but the case against them collapsed the following year.
Eight years later, the Sunday Mail newspaper named Packer as a ‘forgotten suspect’ in the case.
The former sign fitter then contacted BBC journalist Sam Poling in 2018 in a bid to clear his name. But her resulting documentary ended up proving to be crucial in securing his conviction.
On Thursday, Justice Secretary Angela Constance announced the independent probe, saying it could be led by a judge from outside Scotland – one of the key demands of Ms Caldwell’s relatives.
Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain, KC, has said she could instruct an external police force to investigate Scots officers amid concerns their failings may have involved an aspect of ‘criminality’.
Ms Robertson is also angry that efforts to get further information on an email sent to her by a prosecutor saying the Crown Office was looking at ‘possibly criminality’ by police had been ignored to date.
Dated December 18, 2019, the email states: ‘A report is with senior lawyers, to determine whether any offences have been committed and whether there can be any criminal prosecution in relation to the conduct of officers.
‘The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service cannot regulate Police Scotland (or then Strathclyde Police) therefore the purpose of any report is in relation to potential criminality.
The lengthy report received raises systemic issues present within the then Strathclyde Police.’
Ms Robertson said: ‘It is clear that at this time there was a belief criminality among police officers had occurred, so why won’t they tell me now about the outcome of that investigation?’
Her files have been passed to one of Scotland’s leading personal injury law firms to assess potential grounds for legal action.
She said: ‘It’s fashionable to say “it’s not about money”, but it’s the only form of redress that works, that helps you purchase a bit of freedom and that can force organisations to address poor practice and culture.’
Scottish Tory justice spokesman Russell Findlay said: ‘Magdalene is one of many victims of Emma’s killer who rightly refuse to back down after being repeatedly failed by the criminal justice agencies.
‘Having spoken with her this week, it’s clear both Police Scotland and the Crown Office have questions to answer about alleged inconsistencies and lies.
Serial rapist Packer had numerous victims
‘The authorities must come clean and cannot be allowed to hide behind the pending public inquiry, as this could take years to conclude.
Magdalene’s ordeal also raises concerns about the broken police complaints system, created by SNP Ministers.’
A Police Scotland spokesman said: ‘The Chief Constable met Emma Caldwell’s family earlier this week and apologised for the failings of policing.
We will fully support the public inquiry and any further police investigation.’
The Lord Advocate said: ‘With respect to criminal actions of police, I am taking advice on instructing a force from outside Scotland to look further at allegations against officers.’
The Crown Office said its prosecutors ‘remain willing to meet Magdalene Robertson, or any of the other victims, to answer any questions they may have’.