Public inquiry into Nottingham attacks announced in Parliament

More details on the judge-led public inquiry into the Nottingham attacks – which saw three people stabbed to death – have been announced in Parliament.

Barnaby Webber, Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates were killed by Valdo Calocane in the city on 13 June 2023.

The deaths have prompted widespread criticism from the victims’ families over how authorities handled the case.

On Tuesday, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the inquiry would be chaired by Her Honour Deborah Taylor.

She said the statutory inquiry “will have the power to compel witnesses” and “must be thorough in its assessment of the facts”.

She added the full terms of reference would be placed in the libraries of both Houses “at the earliest opportunity”.

University of Nottingham students Mr Webber and Ms O’Malley-Kumar were fatally stabbed in Ilkeston Road, while Mr Coates was found dead with knife injuries in Magdala Road.

Calocane then used Mr Coates’s van to drive into three pedestrians – Wayne Birkett, Marcin Gawronski and Sharon Miller – in the city centre.

Calocane, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia before the attacks, was sentenced to a hospital order in January 2024 after admitting three counts of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and three counts of attempted murder.

At the time, Mr Webber’s mother Emma said “true justice has not been served”.

The case has prompted a number of reviews including a mental health homicide review, commissioned by NHS England.

A review into the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) found while prosecutors had been right to accept Calocane’s pleas of manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility, they could have handled the case better.

The families of Mr Webber, Miss O’Malley-Kumar and Mr Coates met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss plans for a judge-led public inquiry in February.

At the time, Sir Keir said it would “take place within weeks” and the families were told a “number of different agencies” would be scrutinised.