The families of the victims of the 2023 Nottingham attacks say they are confident a Statutory Public Inquiry – confirmed to them by the Prime Minister in a face-to-face meeting today – will lead to ‘systemic change’ and a ‘safer society for all’.
In a meeting at 10 Downing Street, the families of students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19 and caretaker Ian Coates, 65, said Sir Keir Starmer apologised to them for being made to ‘fight every step of the way’ for the Inquiry to be confirmed.
It comes a week after a new report on the NHS treatment of Valdo Calocane, who brutally killed their loved ones, highlighted widespread failings in his mental health care.
It revealed he was discharged without a face-to-face assessment, despite having been sectioned four times in three years, being a known risk of violence when in the community, and not taking his medication.
‘Watershed moment’
Leaving Downing Street today, the families and their legal team described it as a ‘watershed’ moment.
Grace’s father, Dr Sanjoy Kumar, said he had thanked the Prime Minster, ‘father to father’ for making the Inquiry happen.
As we have always said as families, everywhere that Valdo Calocane intersected with the authorities, we were let down,” he said.
Today we got the answer we have been waiting for – a confirmed Judge-led statutory inquiry with wide-ranging powers. We can now hold people accountable.
We will be able to get answers to all of the many questions we have. For the nation it is a great day because for everyone who has also suffered the way we have, we will make sure that changes come for the betterment of our country, making the land safer for all of us.
Change will mean accountability. We will only get systemic change if we hold people accountable.
What went wrong in our case was very basic. It was not complicated, it was people just not doing their jobs. If we hold people accountable, they will change systems across the country and it will make it safer for all of us – all of the mums and dads out there.
We all deserve to be safe, it’s a basic right. I really think we will get changes across the board from this, for everyone. Everyone who has not had a voice to date, we represent them too. We want change for them as we want change for us.
‘We don’t want other people to have to walk in our shoes’
James Coates, son of Ian, said:
Today is finally a good reason to come to London, to get the promises we have been given. Now we can see changes.
It’s not just about us and our families, it’s about the future and protecting the public, so they don’t have to walk in our shoes, and so they can feel safe.
Barnaby’s mother, Emma Webber, added:
It’s the first bit of positive news that we’ve been able to have for a very, very long time.
I think today is a watershed moment because it will be a moment in time where those who failed so grossly will be held to account. Most importantly things will change now for the better, for the future.
We now have to let the Inquiry take its course. We have been told we will be included in the entire process and we have a great legal team and support team around us and without them we would not be here today. It’s over to them now.
Time for ‘real change’
The families’ solicitor, Neil Hudgell, of Hudgell Solicitors, said:
We want to thank the Prime Minister and the Cabinet Members for their time today and their support.
For the families, today felt like the first time that they not had to fight for what needs to happen and not had to battle the authorities.
It is a milestone moment and we now look forward to working with the Chair, once appointed, to get what will be a hugely important Inquiry started – one which has to achieve something which has not been achieved over the past 30 years – in that it has to ensure lessons are learned and result in real change to prevent events like that in Nottingham in 2023 from happening again.
