Name those who failed in Nottingham killer's care, families say

Laura Hammond

BBC News, Nottingham

The victims’ families spoke in London after the release of a major review into the NHS on Wednesday

PA Media The families of the Nottingham attack victims sit at a table at a press conference — The victims’ families spoke in London after the release of a major review into the NHS on Wednesday

The mother of one of the victims of the Nottingham attacks says “names must be named” for NHS staff involved in the failings of triple killer Valdo Calocane.

Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, and Ian Coates, 65, were stabbed to death by Calocane, who has paranoid schizophrenia, on 13 June 2023.

An independent review into his NHS treatment and care, published on Wednesday, said it showed the “system got it wrong” and identified a catalogue of errors.

At a press conference in London, Mr Webber’s mum Emma Webber said the professional implications of being named were no comparison to the loss of a family member.

The families say they will “not stop until we get justice”

The review, by Theemis Consulting, looked into the treatment given to Calocane by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust before the killings, as well as the interactions the NHS had with other agencies involved in his care.

The report found a number of failings, including his risk not being “fully understood, managed, documented or communicated”, and identified missed opportunities to take more assertive action towards Calocane’s care.

NHS England said it was “clear the system got it wrong” and apologised to the victims’ families “on behalf of the NHS and the organisations involved”.

Similarly, Ifti Majid, chief executive of the Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, apologised and said it would accept the report “in its entirety”.

Neil Hudgell, solicitor for the families, and Emma Webber called for greater accountability

PA Media A man in a suit next to a woman in a blue dress. — Neil Hudgell, solicitor for the families, and Emma Webber called for greater accountability

Dr Sanjoy Kumar, the father of Grace O’Malley-Kumar, said he would be writing to Health Secretary Wes Streeting to order the mental health trust to hold individual clinicians “responsible”.

“We demand accountability,” he added.

Ian Coates, Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar died on 13 June 2023

Supplied A composite image of Ian Coates, Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar — Ian Coates, Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar died on 13 June 2023

Since the publication of the report, which Mrs Webber described as a “horror show”, the government repeated its commitment to an inquiry into the attacks, with work ongoing to establish its scope.

But Neil Hudgell, solicitor for the families, said: “We want it to have teeth, and be judge-led.”

Mrs Webber called on the government to make the inquiry statutory, and pleaded for ministers to “make this trauma stop, and make our fight stop now”.

She added: “I do think it’s time now that we get the opportunity to meet with the prime minister.”

Calocane was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia before the attacks

Nottinghamshire Police A mugshot of Valdo Calocane, the Nottingham attacks killer against a green background — Calocane was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia before the attacks

Calocane was sentenced to a hospital order in January 2024 after pleading guilty to three counts of manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility, and three counts of attempted murder after using Mr Coates’s van to drive into three pedestrians.

Speaking outside Nottingham Crown Court following sentencing, Mrs Webber said “true justice has not been served”, adding the families had been “let down” by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

In May last year, judges ruled Calocane’s sentence was not unduly lenient.

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