The family of murdered police officer Gordon Semple hopes his killer will die in prison.

Stefano Brizzi, 50, was ordered to serve a minimum of 24 years in prison for the gruesome murder of Mr Semple before trying to dissolve his body in acid.

The crystal meth addict, who was inspired by TV show Breaking Bad, attempted to use acid to dispose of the body of Inverness-born Mr Semple, 59, in his London flat. He claimed Satan had ordered him to do so.

His victim's brother Ronnie Semple, a taxi driver who still lives in Inverness, said he hopes Brizzi never walks free from jail.

He said: "It's what I expected - I expected life. A minimum 24 years without parole - that helps as well. Hopefully he won't see the light of day again.

"We're just glad it's all over. It's time for my son and daughter and grandkids to try to enjoy Christmas."

Ronnie insisted he would never be able to consider forgiving Brizzi for what he did to his brother.

He added: "That's a big no. That's a definite no. It's not as though it's an accident, knocking someone down with a car. Then maybe you could forgive.

"We're very happy that the judge took the decision that he did and we're full of praise for the Metropolitan Police.

"Obviously Gordon was doing something he shouldn't have been doing but he was one of theirs and they were determined to get the guy for murder."

Ronnie believes Brizzi was already on the path towards murdering someone and his brother was unfortunate to be his victim.

He said: "If it wasn't Gordon, it would have been someone else."

Mr Semple joined the Metropolitan Police in London in 1983 and eventually worked at the antisocial behaviour unit at the city's Westminster Council.

He arranged to meet Brizzi through gay dating app Grindr and went to his flat on April 1.

The killer claimed Mr Semple died when a sex game went wrong.

A pathologist said strangulation may have been the cause of death, however, and it would have taken minutes for Mr Semple to die.

Brizzi was later seen on a DIY store's CCTV buying buckets, a perforated metal sheet and cleaning products.

Inspired by a scene in the first series of popular TV show Breaking Bad, Brizzi dismembered Mr Semple's body. He burned some of his flesh in the oven while mixing some with acid in his bath.

Mr Semple was reported missing by long-term partner Gary Meeks when he failed to return to their home in Dartford, Kent.

Neighbours of Brizzi called police after they complained about the stench coming from his flat.

The former Morgan Stanley IT developer was found guilty of murder in a trial last month.

Judge Nicholas Hilliard sentenced Brizzi to life imprisonment with a minimum of 24 years at the Old Bailey in London on Monday.

He said: "No sentence I can pass can undo what you've done. I have no doubt that there came a time when you went beyond what was agreed and you decided to cause him really serious harm.

"Your attempts to conceal what happened and dismembering and destroying his body are terrible features of the case."

The judge commended the police officers who went to the scene.