The tearful mother of a teenager stabbed to death by Nottingham Killer Valdo Calocane was comforted by Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid on the show today.
Emma Webber, whose son Barnaby, 19, was one of three killed in the June 2023 attacks, spoke on Good Morning Britain today about the ‘horror show’ review highlighting ‘clear failings’ in the care of schizophrenic Calocane.
The emotional mother wept as she said: ‘Harvey should be here today, completing his final year of university. His 21st birthday last month was crucifying.’Â
Her remarks were met with tears from host Susanna Reid who comforted her as she struggled to speak.
Ms Webber revealed she has been speaking to the family of one of the girls who were stabbed to death at a Taylor Swift dance class in Southport by Axel Rudakubana in July.Â
She said being in a bereaved family is an ‘awful club that you’d never want to be in’, and that it is ‘very rare’ for someone to understand what they are going through.
She said: ‘I’ve been in contact with one of the families who reached out to me because suddenly you’re just in this awful club that you’d never want to be in.
‘With Southport, it was one of the direct families of one of the little girls.
‘Actually we’ve been in contact – not talking from a legal perspective or even a media perspective at all – it’s very private.
‘It’s very rare that you can say to someone ‘I know how dreadful that is’ and know that that person really does know.
‘Because what you hear is ‘I can only imagine’.’
The tearful mother of a teenager stabbed to death by Nottingham Killer Valdo Calocane was comforted by Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid on the show today
Nottingham Killer Valdo Calocane (pictured)Â killed Barnaby, Grace O’Malley-Kumar, 19, and 65-year-old Ian Coates in the random stabbing spree in June 2023
Calocane killed Barnaby Webber (centre), Grace O’Malley-Kumar (right), both 19, and 65-year-old Ian Coates (left)Â
The new review, published today, revealed a litany of blunders that left Calocane free to kill Barnaby, Grace O’Malley-Kumar, 19, and 65-year-old Ian Coates in the random stabbing spree.
Ms Webber claimed mental health teams missed opportunities because ‘they just didn’t do their jobs properly’ and dubbed the IOPC as ‘not fit for purpose’.
‘The nine reports are full of gaps, holes and omissions, finger pointing and a lack of accountability. This is a 300-page atrocity and the stuff in there is terrifying,’ she said.
The mother pledged all of the victims families ‘will stop at nothing’ to get justice and added: ‘Enough is enough. Get this done. I don’t want to chain myself to the Houses of Parliament, but I will. We will do whatever we have to do to right this wrong. I promise you, Barnie.’
She is demanding a statutory public inquiry takes place so ‘all organisations and parties involved are forced to attend and cooperate’ in order for ‘the horror and truth to be uncovered’.
‘It’s not a witch-hunt, it’s about taking accountability. It might be difficult to lose your job but not as difficult as losing your son, your daughter or your husband,’ she added.
Calocane was not forced to take long-lasting antipsychotic medication before his rampage because he was scared of needles, the damning report found.
The families of his victims have reacted with fury to the findings – which they believe supports their view that he was wrongly spared prison in a potential ‘injustice of the highest order’.
The report also found that other patients of the mental health trust which treated Calocane went on to commit ‘extremely serious’ acts of violence.
Ms Webber revealed she has been speaking to the family of one of the girls who were stabbed to death at a Taylor Swift dance class in Southport by Axel Rudakubana in JulyÂ
Axel Rudakubana, 18, was resentenced to detention at His Majestyâs Pleasure over the three murders of Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nineÂ
Rudakubana and tried to kill ten others during the Taylor Swiftg themed event in July
The NHS had initially tried to avoid publishing the full independent mental health homicide review – citing Calocane’s patient confidentiality – but u-turned on Tuesday in the face of outrage from the bereaved families.
Calocane had a long history of contact with NHS mental health services and is serving an indefinite hospital order after admitting manslaughter with diminished responsibility.
Prosecutors accepted his not guilty pleas to murder after medical evidence showed he had been suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.
But the families said the review showed the killer was ‘responsible for his actions and was allowed to make these decisions by his treating teams’, adding: ‘When he came to court, we were told a very different story.’
Their statement continued: ‘He may have been spared prison on the basis of incomplete evidence.
‘We have now seen report after report highlighting the failings of police forces and the health services.
‘These repeated failings led to this man being in the community and able to take our loved ones from us, and now we see evidence that he may have been sentenced in court on the wrong basis.’
Nottingham Killer Valdo Calocane depicted in a court sketch dated November 2023
Dr Sinead O’Malley (left) and Dr Sanjoy Kumar (second left), parents of Grace O’Malley-Kumar during a memorial event at the University of NottinghamÂ
The report found that repeated requests were made for Calocane to be put on antipsychotic depot (long lasting) medication – but risk ‘was not fully understood, managed, documented or communicated’.
It highlighted how, in one assessment carried out by mental health workers, the risk to staff was ‘managed’ by making arrangements for workers not to visit Calocane’s home alone, but a plan for the ‘hazards’ if he came off his medication and disengaged with mental health services was not developed.
Calocane had four hospital admissions between 2020 and 2022 and multiple contacts with community teams – before he was discharged to his GP because of a lack of interaction with mental health services.
The report detailed two years of his violent and disturbing behaviour, including frightening a neighbour so much she jumped out of a first floor window, leading to a serious back injury, punching a police officer in the face and holding his flatmates ‘hostage’.
Health officials also admitted it is ‘clear the system got it wrong’.
Grace O’Malley-Kumar, was described by her family as being ‘loved endlessly by all’ and ‘resilient and wise beyond her years’
The families’ statement continued: ‘The picture presented to the court with regards to his mental capacity was very different to the one in the notes of those treating him.
‘He was responsible for his actions and was allowed to make these decisions by his treating teams, but yet when he came to court, we were told a very different story.’
In further disturbing revelations, investigators found a series of violent incidents involving patients linked to Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
There were found to have been 15 incidents between 2019 and 2023 where current or recently discharged patients perpetrated ‘serious violence’ towards others, including strangers.
‘The level of violence in the incidents was extremely serious and in three cases resulted in fatalities,’ the report said.
‘The majority of these incidents involved stabbings.
‘Most notably, in February 2023 there was an incident where a patient in receipt of mental health services from Nottingham Healthcare NHS Trust was arrested for stabbing five people over the course of a weekend.’
Flowers were laid on the steps of Nottingham Council House following Grace, Barnaby and Ian’s deaths
David Webber, the father of Barnaby Webber, looking at floral tributes left at the scene on Ilkeston Road in Nottingham where Barnaby and Grace O’Malley-Kumar were killed
The incident is an apparent reference to Junior Dietlin, a paranoid schizophrenic who stalked and stabbed five ‘complete strangers’ over four days in Nottingham and Mansfield.
He approached his male victims as they walked alone in the dark, stabbing each in the arm before fleeing. Dietlin was detained indefinitely in a secure hospital last year.
Dr Jessica Sokolov, regional medical director at NHS England, said: ‘It’s clear the system got it wrong, including the NHS, and the consequences of when this happens can be devastating.
‘This is not acceptable, and I unreservedly apologise to the families of victims on behalf of the NHS and the organisations involved in delivering care to Valdo Calocane before this incident took place.’
The family of Calocane said in their own statement that the report confirmed ‘the mental healthcare system is in crisis and in need of immediate intervention, which we believe must come from the Government’.
Their statement said they also wished to express ‘how deeply sorry we are for this horrific tragedy, and the immeasurable pain Valdo’s actions have caused to so many involved’.
