Lack of victims' rights in new Bill ‘outrageous', says Barnaby Webber's mother

South Wales Guardian

17 hours ago

The Victims and Courts Bill, which is currently passing through the Commons, will give victims no statutory right to be told about decisions affecting the detention, leave or discharge of their offenders with its current provisions, according to national charity Hundred Families.
Discretion of the information will be left to hospital managers and probation services instead, with victims having no legal right to be informed, carry out a consultation or appeal any decisions.
Valdo Calocane, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, killed 19-year-old students Barnaby and Grace O'Malley-Kumar and 65-year-old caretaker Ian Coates before attempting to kill three other people, in a spate of attacks in the city in June 2023.
He was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order in January last year after admitting manslaughter by diminished responsibility and attempted murder.
A judge-led public inquiry into the decisions made prior to the attacks was announced in February and is due to take place later this year.
Emma Webber said the Bill would be 'a betrayal of every victim who has already been failed by this system' if it was passed into law in its current form.
'This must not happen. It is utterly outrageous that the Government would even contemplate this,' she said.
'So egregious are the failings by every single agency involved in every aspect of our tragedy that a statutory public inquiry is under way.
'A significant part of the inquiry will focus on the failings of 'hospital managers' and 'clinicians' who failed to do their jobs properly. Resulting in the monster who killed my beautiful child be allowed to roam the streets and hide in plain sight.'
Ms Webber continued: 'Why has the Government chosen to include us as families in the proposals for the mental health bill, revision of our homicide laws and even the 10-year plan but conveniently chosen to ignore us on what is probably the one that will affect us the most?'
Campaigners have called on victims minister Alex Davies-Jones to amend the Bill by guaranteeing all victims have the right to be consulted, receive necessary information and be informed of key decisions, and to create a formal appeal process when information is denied.
Julian Hendy, founder of Hundred Families, said the Bill as it stands was 'not just a loophole, it's a kick in the teeth' for bereaved families and victims.
She said: 'We are talking about offenders who have been convicted of the most serious of crimes, which cause extreme concern amongst the public.
'This is not about punishment. It's about basic fairness, compassion, and transparency. Victims and their families should not be shut out of decisions that affect their personal safety and recovery.
'We have a lamentably long track record in our country of ignoring victims of serious crime. That has to stop. There is a balance to be struck.
'The Government has a clear opportunity to put this right and they must not waste it.'
The Victims and Courts Bill is currently at the report stage in the House of Commons after first being introduced to Parliament in May.