Latest news with #EmmaWebber
ITV News
a day ago
- Politics
- ITV News
Barnaby Webber's mother slams 'outrageous' Bill that could strip victims of legal rights
The mother of Nottingham attack victim Barnaby Webber has branded new Government legislation "utterly outrageous". Emma Webber said the Victims and Courts Bill - now moving through Parliament - would be "a betrayal" if passed in its current form, and urged ministers to urgently revise the proposals. She warns that it could strip bereaved families of the right to be consulted or informed about major decisions relating to mentally disordered offenders. The Victims and Courts Bill 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?' In a further letter written to two ministers on Sunday, Ms Webber requested an urgent meeting to discuss her concerns and proposed amendments to the Bill. She described the provisions as 'a devastating oversight that repeats the very failings we are now reliving through the public inquiry'. Ms Webber added: 'This Bill, if passed in its current form, will entrench a system that sidelines victims of the most serious mental health-related killings. 'It cannot be allowed to proceed unnoticed and unchallenged. 'Our lives are shattered; our trauma deeper than you could possibly imagine, but yet again, a new fight has seemingly been thrown at us.' 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. He 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.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Lack of victims' rights in new Bill ‘outrageous', says Barnaby Webber's mother
The mother of Nottingham attack victim Barnaby Webber has criticised new legislation that could leave victims of mentally disordered offenders without certain legal rights as 'utterly outrageous'. 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.
Scottish Sun
07-06-2025
- Scottish Sun
Notts knife attack victim's mum slams ‘shameful' BBC for failing to apologise for chat with killer's family
Panorama's The Nottingham Attacks: A Search for Answers aired last August BEEB 'SNUB' Notts knife attack victim's mum slams 'shameful' BBC for failing to apologise for chat with killer's family Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A NOTTINGHAM knife victim's mum says it is 'shameful' BBC's Panorama has still not apologised ten months after airing interviews with the killer's family. Emma Webber told of her 'unimaginable horror' at being given two weeks' notice of the show. 5 Emma Webber, mother of Barnaby Webber, has still not relieved an apology from the BBC Credit: The Times 5 Barney Webber was murdered by Valdo Calocane in Nottingham in June 2023 Credit: PA The families were not offered the chance to contribute and said editors' responses to complaints were 'dismissive'. The BBC's complaints unit later said it would get a response within 35 days. But six months on, the families have had nothing — so have gone to boss Tim Davie. Emma said: 'It's exhausting, draining and shameful we have to escalate our concerns to the very top to get a response.' The families complained that Panorama's The Nottingham Attacks: A Search for Answers contained 'serious inaccuracies and omissions'. They also said the report — about Calocane's NHS mental health treatment — was sympathetic to the killer's family, who were featured. The BBC yesterday apologised for the delay. Calocane killed Emma's student son Barnaby, his pal Grace O'Malley- Kumar plus school caretaker Ian Coates in 2023. The schizophrenic got a hospital order for manslaughter by diminished responsibility. The 11 deadly blunders that left Valdo Calocane free to kill as Nottingham victims' parents say cops have blood on hands 5 Calocane's family were interviewed for Panorama's The Nottingham Attacks: A Search for Answers Credit: PA 5 Grace O'Malley- Kumar was killed by Calocane while out with Webber Credit: PA
The Sun
07-06-2025
- The Sun
Notts knife attack victim's mum slams ‘shameful' BBC for failing to apologise for chat with killer's family
A NOTTINGHAM knife victim's mum says it is 'shameful' BBC's Panorama has still not apologised ten months after airing interviews with the killer's family. Emma Webber told of her 'unimaginable horror' at being given two weeks' notice of the show. 5 5 The families were not offered the chance to contribute and said editors' responses to complaints were 'dismissive'. The BBC 's complaints unit later said it would get a response within 35 days. But six months on, the families have had nothing — so have gone to boss Tim Davie. Emma said: 'It's exhausting, draining and shameful we have to escalate our concerns to the very top to get a response.' The families complained that Panorama's The Nottingham Attacks: A Search for Answers contained 'serious inaccuracies and omissions'. They also said the report — about Calocane's NHS mental health treatment — was sympathetic to the killer's family, who were featured. The BBC yesterday apologised for the delay. Calocane killed Emma's student son Barnaby, his pal Grace O'Malley- Kumar plus school caretaker Ian Coates in 2023. The schizophrenic got a hospital order for manslaughter by diminished responsibility. The 11 deadly blunders that left Valdo Calocane free to kill as Nottingham victims' parents say cops have blood on hands 5 5 5
Leader Live
24-05-2025
- Health
- Leader Live
Attacks by NHS trust's patients ‘do not surprise us', say Nottingham families
Emma Webber, mother of Barnaby Webber, said the failings of Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust 'continue to concern but sadly not surprise us' following the news that two men with paranoid schizophrenia, treated by the trust, stabbed members of the public in separate incidents weeks before the attacks. Josef Easom-Cooper and Junior Dietlin attacked six men in the county in 2023. Emma Webber, the mother of Barnaby Webber, said further failings by the trust 'continue to concern but sadly not a surprise us' (Jonathan Brady/PA) Dr Susan Elcock, deputy chief executive and executive medical director at the trust, apologised 'for any aspect of our care which was not of the high standard our patients, their families and our communities deserve'. Another of the trust's patients, Valdo Calocane, went on to kill students Barnaby and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, and caretaker Ian Coates, 65, before attempting to kill three other people in the city in June 2023. A report into Calocane's care said he was not forced to have long-lasting anti-psychotic medication because he did not like needles. On behalf of the Nottingham families, Ms Webber told the PA news agency: 'Unless we expose those who are failing individually then nothing will ever change.' She said: 'The findings in the latest revelation about the Nottinghamshire mental health trust and its failings continue to concern but sadly not surprise us. 'As has been proven, it was a woefully inadequate, failing service. 'The statutory inquiry will provide our family with the opportunity to do the deeper dive and find out much more detail than any of the half-baked investigations that have taken place so far. 'What we find personally insulting is this continued 'unreserved apology and lessons will be learned' – they are not. They never have been. 'Unless we expose those who are failing individually then nothing will ever change. Ian Coates, left to right, Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar (Nottinghamshire Police/PA) 'We completely stand united with anyone affected by any of these crimes, and in Barney, Grace and Ian's name, we will hold those to account who failed in any agency, and we will make sure that there is lasting change, not unreserved apologies and dusty reports on shelves.' In April 2023, Easom-Cooper stabbed a church-goer outside an Easter service and was sentenced to a hospital order in December of the same year. His mother, Shelly Easom, told the BBC he was sectioned in 2022 for three months and was discharged despite her telling the trust that he 'was not OK when he was released'. She told the broadcaster the attack could have been prevented if his condition had been taken more seriously. Dietlin stabbed five strangers in Nottingham and Mansfield nine weeks before the attack by Easom-Cooper and he also received a hospital order. Former police officer Keith Grafton, who was one of Dietlin's victims, told the BBC he was 'disappointed' his attacker had not received a prison sentence. The broadcaster said a report showed Dietlin had been involved with violent incidents with staff at Highbury Hospital in June 2022 and following his release, he took his medication 'very irregularly'. The BBC reported the day after his first attack on February 8 2023, he was visited by a staff member at the trust for a medication drop, but when community staff visited they found no signs of psychosis. Dietlin stabbed four more people between February 11 and 12. The trust said learning was identified in both cases – including capacity and risk assessment, liaison with police, medication drop-offs and follow-up and the role of families in working with patients who were harder to engage with. Dr Elcock said: 'Firstly, I apologise to those impacted by these incidents and for any aspect of our care which was not of the high standard our patients, their families and our communities deserve. 'Whilst we are unable to comment on individual cases due to patient confidentiality, I want to assure people that following any serious incident there is a robust review process which includes an initial management review to ensure any immediate learning and action takes place. 'This is then followed by a full investigation and a clear quality improvement plan detailing any learning and subsequent actions required. 'We have also implemented the new national patient safety incident response framework (PSIRF) which further strengthens this review and learning process. 'We know that it is really important for patients and families to be fully involved and I am confident our approach now ensures this happens, and that issues are addressed swiftly and transparently with patients involved in every aspect of their care. 'Above all, we remain fully committed to ensuring all our patients and their families receive the care they deserve, and our communities feel safe.'
