THE Emma Caldwell murder suspect admitted in front of jurors indecently assaulting her in the year before he allegedly killed her.

Iain Packer was further questioned by prosecutor Richard Goddard KC at his trial at the High Court in Glasgow today.

In his evidence on Tuesday, the 51-year-old said he was “ashamed” that he did not immediately stop when asked during a sexual encounter with Miss Caldwell in the city’s East End in August 2004.

One of the 36 charges - including the murder in April 2005 - is that he indecently assaulted the 27-year-old on the earlier occasion.

Quizzed about it again today, Packer said he was “not happy” about what he had done and had “no idea” why he did not stop when Miss Caldwell wanted him to.

Mr Goddard said: “What you did was criminal. It is wrong. Why not plead guilty?”

Packer replied: “It did happen, yes.”

The advocate depute said: “You accept your guilt of indecently assaulting Emma Caldwell?”

Packer replied: “Yes.”

Mr Goddard went on: “A bit late in the day. You have had the indictment (of charges)…you would have known if you had indecently assaulted a poor young woman?”

He replied: “I apologise for that. It is not something that I am proud of.”

The jury again watched a clip of the interview Packer had with BBC Scotland investigative reporter Samantha Poling prior to a documentary in 2019.

They discuss a sex attack said to have been carried out by him on Miss Caldwell.

Among the “lies” he accepted making to the journalist was that the first he had heard about the allegation was when a woman living with him told him about it.

Mr Goddard said: “The fact of the matter is when you are saying those words on screen, you knew fine well what you had done to Emma Caldwell.”

Packer replied: “Correct.”

The prosecutor later put to him: “Do you tell a pack of lies in situations where you are trying to clear your name?”

Packer said: “Not usually.”

Mr Goddard asked: “Just sometimes?”

He replied: “On that occasion, I did.”

Packer faces a total of 36 charges of physical and sexual violence involving multiple women including the murder of Miss Caldwell at Limefield Woods in Biggar, South Lanarkshire, on April 5, 2005.

He told jurors on Tuesday that he had gone to that remote area six times with sex workers including Miss Caldwell.

Packer was asked today why he chose there and claimed it “just happened” and had not been planned.

He said “once you knew where it was” that it was “easy to get to”.

Mr Goddard described the way Packer is said to have driven there as “an extraordinary convoluted route to a remote speck of the hills”.

Packer claimed he had to “pay more” to take the women there.

The advocate depute put to him: “Why were you willing to pay over the odds to take them 40 miles out of Glasgow city centre to the very remote spot in the darkness?”

Packer replied: “Something to do. It was not planned, it just happened.”

He added he had gone to the forest with Miss Caldwell, but not to the area where her body was eventually found in May 2005.

The trial, before judge Lord Beckett, continues.