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Thanks for following our live coverage this morning as Simon Vickers was jailed for life with a minimum term of 15 years for the murder of his 14-year-old daughter Scarlett.

That's the lowest minimum term the judge can pass down for a murder verdict - you can read our post below for more detail.

As the judge, Mr Justice Cotter, began his sentencing remarks, he told Vickers that Scarlett was a "normal healthy young girl with a long life ahead of her when it was cut short by you".

He said that night last July went from an ordinary, happy family evening to tragedy "within seconds".

Cotter went on to explain that the murder was a "flash of anger", with intoxication playing a part.

"I am satisfied you must have drunk more than you said you did", he added, before saying the stab wound was "not the result of trifling force".

Cotter ended by telling Simon Vickers he had lost his only child at his "own hand", adding that Scarlett "deserved the truth and you have not given it". He said Vickers had given different accounts of what had happened - but accepted he was a "broken man" and "devastated" at what he had done.

Simon Vickers has been sentenced to a life sentence with a minimum of 15 years for the murder of his 14-year-old daughter Scarlett.

Fifteen years is the lowest minimum term the judge can pass down for a murder verdict, and Vickers will serve that minus the 217 days served on remand so far. 

A reminder that the end of the 15-year minimum term marks the first time that Vickers will be eligible for parole, and there is no guarantee he will be released after that. 

"It was a momentary but devastating act of anger," Mr Justice Cotter says, summarising. 

The judge says Vickers, in the act of taking his daughter's life, robbed a 14-year-old of a bright future and also ruined the lives of his family.

"You may go down," he says as the court rises. 

The judge tells Simon Vickers "you've lost your only child at your own hand", as he accepts some mitigating factors.

"I accept this was momentary moment of anger", he says, with no premeditation.

He also says he is not sure of his intention to kill, and accepts that he is "devastated" and have since been "a broken man".

The judge now moves to the formalities of sentencing and parole.

 Mr Justice Cotter points out that he must sentence Simon Vickers to life - given he's been found guilty of murder.

He notes he must set a minimum term - the time he must spend in prison before being eligible for parole. 

The judge also says he has taken into account Scarlett's age of only 14 at the time of her death, which he says makes the case "all the more serious". 

He also notes previous issues involving Vickers and knives some 30 years ago and some other convictions, and agrees with the defence that they are not relevant and have not influenced his sentencing. 

The judge says he "anxiously thought" about the role of alcohol in the murder, which he says was done in a "flash of anger", with intoxication playing a part. 

Judge Mr Justice Cotter says the story Simon Vickers put forward to the jury at trial was "unconvincing".

He said his story was "clearly untrue" given the evidence the court heard during the trial, particularly from the pathologist.

The judge says he has given different accounts of what happened, including that knives were thrown, tongs swiped along the work surface and in other versions that he wasn't aware of a knife at all.

"You have never accepted what happened, although you have accepted it was your actions that caused her death," he adds.

"Your daughter deserved the truth and you have not given it."

Scarlett Vickers' stab wound was "not the result of trifling force", the judge says.

Addressing her father Simon Vickers, Mr Justice Cotter says he had to pierce her "fluffy night gown" and bra before making an 11cm-deep wound in her chest.

The resulting blood loss caused her death.

The judge adds Vickers' partner said the last thing she must have seen was "panic on your faces".

"We were mucking about," he told arriving emergency services that night, the judge says.

He adds paramedics said he "smelt of intoxicating liquor".

"I am satisfied you must have drunk more than you said you did," he continues.

The judge is continuing to recap events the night Scarlett died. 

"After work you smoked cannabis and drank some wine," Mr Justice Cotter says, addressing Vickers in the dock. 

The judge says he's satisfied that he drank more than he had claimed after his arrest. 

Those in court are now hearing how his daughter Scarlett came downstairs at around 10.15pm and started throwing grapes. 

After a small exchange between father and daughter when she told her dad not to be "a wimp" after her mother pinched him with tongs, Vickers asked his daughter "how would you like it"?

"Exactly what then happens only you know," Mr Justice Cotter says, moving on to the moment of the stabbing itself. 

The judge, Mr Justice Cotter, has returned to court and begins delivering his sentencing remarks.

He says Scarlett was a "normal healthy young girl with a long life ahead of her when it was cut short by you".

He adds that night last July went from an ordinary, happy family evening to tragedy "within seconds".

Simon Vickers' lawyer is now setting out his mitigation.

Nicholas Lumley KC says each member of his family is already serving a life sentence, "from which they will never be free".

Simon Vickers has "accepted his actions brought about her death", but he points out there was no pre-meditation and "whatever happened in the kitchen happened in a moment".

"Remorse in this case is palpable," he adds, also referring to his partner - Scarlett's mother - who has stood by his version of events and says she does not believe he meant any harm.

Emergency services were called straight away after the incident in the family's kitchen in their Darlington home last July, he continues.

After Lumley finishes speaking, the judge, Mr Justice Cotter, rises briefly and will return to deliver his sentencing remarks shortly.

The hearing has begun under way at Teesside Crown Court.

Mr Justice Cotter is presiding over today's proceedings.

Prosecutor Mark McKone begins by running through the details of the case. 

You can remind yourself of those here.

He also notes previous convictions for Vickers involving a Stanley knife in 1993 and his most recent conviction for minor dishonesty in 1999. 

He points out a lack of premeditation by Vickers when murdering his daughter Scarlett. 

Vickers stands in the dock wearing a grey tracksuit top, and has only spoken once to confirm his name.