Latest news with #NottinghamAttack
The Independent
3 days ago
- The Independent
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.' House of Commons after first being introduced to Parliament in May.
Yahoo
3 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.
The Independent
09-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Nottingham attack families ask Streeting for names of staff who treated killer
The families of the Nottingham attack victims said they have told the Health Secretary they want the names of staff involved in treating killer Valdo Calocane to be made public. A February report into the care received by Calocane detailed how he was not forced to have long-lasting antipsychotic medication because he did not like needles, and how other patients at Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust also went on to commit 'extremely serious' acts of violence. The relatives of 19-year-old students Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, and 65-year-old caretaker Ian Coates, met with Wes Streeting on Monday and asked for those responsible to be held accountable. After the meeting, Dr Sanjoy Kumar, Grace's father, said: 'It was the actions of a few people that put a dangerous man out in the community'. Calocane, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, killed three people and attempted to kill three more in Nottingham in June 2023. He was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order in January 2024 after admitting manslaughter by diminished responsibility and attempted murder. Calocane was admitted to hospital and sectioned under the Mental Health Act four times between 2020 and 2022 because of his violent behaviour and refusal to take his medication, before NHS services lost track of him and discharged him in the months before the attacks. Three reports: including one by the Care Quality Commission (CQC); described failings in his care but none included practitioners' names, Dr Kumar said with copies of the documents in-hand. Speaking outside the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), he told reporters: 'We'd like to know who was involved in the care of this person who committed all this harm. Why aren't there any names? 'He was sectioned four times – was it four different consultants? Was it one consultant? Who were the teams who didn't do their jobs?' He said: 'I think we deserve to know the detail – everyone in the country who has suffered the way we have through mental health-related homicide deserves to have the detail. 'When an operation goes wrong, someone gets named.' Dr Kumar added: 'We want people to just know, if they did wrong, what is it they need to do to be put right? Whether it's retraining, whether it's … doing the professional development again. 'The point is that you just can't have people who are providing a risky service even now.' He added that the Health Secretary was 'very much on our side, he very much wants to see a way through' and that Mr Streeting has promised 'he's going to work hard at it'. Prior to the meeting, the families said in a statement that their correspondence with the mental health trust's chief executive, Ifti Majid, had been 'light on detail, vague, evasive, defensive and contradictory'. They added that he failed to answer Dr Kumar's questions. Dr Kumar said he has given Mr Streeting the questions he put to the chief executive. He said the Health Secretary 'has promised to do his best to get us all the answers', adding that he has confidence in Mr Streeting because he has 'taken a personal interest in this case' and likewise 'wants to end homicide by mental health'. Their meeting also follows a complaint lodged with the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) by the families regarding an 'offensive' encounter with one of the watchdog's regional directors. Dr Kumar told The Sunday Times newspaper that their meeting with the IOPC, nine months after the attacks, began with a prayer, which he found 'patronising'. The issue was not discussed with Mr Streeting on Monday and would require a different meeting, he told reporters. A DHSC spokesperson said: 'Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and NHS England have accepted all the recommendations made in both the CQC and NHS England-commissioned reviews into the care and treatment received by Valdo Calocane. 'The Health and Social Care Secretary has called for recommendations from both reviews to be implemented as soon as possible and met with the bereaved families today to discuss the NHS England-commissioned Independent Homicide Review. 'As part of this work, NHS England has developed and is actively implementing evidence-based national guidance, so that all trusts are clear on the standards of care expected for patients with serious mental illnesses. 'We remain committed to delivering the fundamental changes needed to mental health services to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future.'
Daily Mail
09-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Father of Nottingham attack victim complains after 'offensive' meeting with police watchdog which was started with a prayer
The father of a Nottingham attack victim has complained about a police watchdog boss who began a meeting with grieving families with a prayer. Dr Sanjoy Kumar, whose daughter Grace was one of three people killed by paranoid schizophrenic Valdo Calocane during a rampage in June 2023, described the meeting as 'patronising and offensive.' A two-year inquiry into the killings of students Ms O'Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, both 19, and caretaker Ian Coates, 65, will scrutinise the role of prosecutors, police and medical professionals. And it has now emerged that Dr Kumar believes a regional director of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) behaved inappropriately when he met with the bereaved families nine months after the attack and started the meeting with a prayer. 'I found it patronising and offensive,' he told the Times. 'I didn't want a prayer, I wanted answers. I've lost my daughter and it was his job to give me the truth, not a prayer. 'There are plenty of places to pray and the IOPC isn't one of them.' The regional director is understood to be Derrick Campbell, the watchdog's director of engagement. A spokesman said: 'We can confirm we've received a complaint about one of our directors and we are dealing with it in line with our complaints and feedback procedure.' The IOPC had previously issued a report which concluded that police failed to properly investigate an assault on warehouse workers by Calocane a month before his killing spree. In a statement at the time, Mr Campbell said: 'Those who are closely impacted by our decision, including the bereaved families and the officers involved, have been notified and we will complete this work as quickly as possible.' Calocane was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order in January 2024 after admitting manslaughter by diminished responsibility and attempted murder. The prosecution decision not to pursue murder charges has been widely criticised by the victims' families. Barnaby's mother Emma Webber said in February last year that relatives had a lot of concerns 'that were in the most part wholly ignored' by the Crown Prosecution Service. Senior retired judge Deborah Taylor will chair the inquiry, which aims to report back within two years, with recommendations to prevent similar incidents.
The Independent
09-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Nottingham attack families to meet Streeting after questions ‘stonewalled'
The families of the Nottingham attack victims are set to meet with the Health Secretary following claims that an NHS trust has 'stonewalled' their questions about staff who treated killer Valdo Calocane. A report into the care received by Calocane, released in February, detailed how he was not forced to have long-lasting antipsychotic medication because he did not like needles, and how other patients at Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust also went on to commit 'extremely serious' acts of violence. The families of 19-year-old students Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, and 65-year-old caretaker Ian Coates, said they will meet with Wes Streeting on Monday to discuss the mental health trust's failings. Calocane, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, killed his three victims and attempted to kill three others in Nottingham in June 2023. He was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order in January 2024 after admitting manslaughter by diminished responsibility and attempted murder. In a statement ahead of their meeting with Mr Streeting, the families said their correspondence with the mental health trust's chief executive Ifti Majid had been 'light on detail, vague, evasive, defensive and contradictory'. They said: 'Extensive failures of Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust have been published in three reports. 'Questions about who failed to do their job have been stonewalled by the trust and NHS England. 'Ifti Majid, the trust's chief executive, has not answered questions posed by Grace's father Dr Sanjoy Kumar. 'The NHS reporting system is archaic and ineffective, as evidenced by the sheer number of reports gathering dust on the 'lessons never learnt' shelf.' NHS England previously indicated it would publish a summary of a report into Calocane's care due to data protection laws, but reversed the decision and published a full version after the Health Secretary said 'sunlight is the best disinfectant'. The families' statement continued: 'Other families in the country who have suffered tragedies have been provided only summary reports, which is just not good enough. 'Every family deserves the detail of failures that led to mental health homicide of their loved ones. 'Even recording of mental health-related homicide nationally is archaic, inaccurate and does not give a true and full picture of the problem. 'There is an utter lack of professional responsibility by senior management teams in the Nottinghamshire NHS Trust who continue to take no action against failing medical professionals even with previous serious blunders coming to light in months prior to the attacks. 'This is shameful, wrong and dangerous.' The statement added: 'The correspondence with Ifti Majid, the chief executive of the trust, has been shocking – light on detail, vague, evasive, defensive and contradictory. 'The trust must not be allowed to rely on an inquiry, which will take years, to do the right thing. 'This is lazy, dishonest, disrespectful and ultimately continues to put the public at risk.' Their meeting with Mr Streeting also follows a complaint lodged with the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) by the families regarding an 'offensive' encounter with one of the watchdog's regional directors. Grace's father, Dr Kumar, told the Sunday Times that their meeting with the IOPC nine months after the attacks began with a prayer, which he found 'patronising'. He told the newspaper: 'I didn't want a prayer, I wanted answers. I've lost my daughter and it was his job to give me the truth, not a prayer.' An IOPC spokesperson said: 'We can confirm we've received a complaint about one of our directors and we are dealing with it in line with our complaints and feedback procedure.'
