A man is to stand trial accused of strangling and dismembering a Scots police officer.

Stefano Brizzi, 49, is accused of killing 59-year-old Gordon Semple at his flat on a day between April 1 and April 7 after meeting him through a dating app.

He was taken before the Recorder of London, Nicholas Hilliard QC, at the Old Bailey to face the murder charge.

Brizzi appeared in court wearing dark sunglasses and a grey tracksuit and was flanked by three dock officers.

The judge set a timetable for the case with a provisional trial date of Tuesday, October 18.

A plea and case management hearing was fixed for June 29. The Italian defendant was remanded in custody ahead of a further hearing on April 20.

Mr Semple was originally from Inverness but had been with the Metropolitan Police for 30 years.

He went missing on April 1 and his remains were discovered a week later after a neighbour alerted Scotland Yard to a "smell of death" coming from a property on the Peabody Estate in south London.