Nottingham families say NHS and police have ‘blood on their hands’ over killings

he families of the victims of the Nottingham attacks say those responsible for failings in Valdo Calocane’s care have "blood on their hands".

Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, and 65-year-old Ian Coates were killed by Calocane, who was psychotic and suffering from paranoid delusions, on 13 June 2023.

A review published by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on Tuesday found "a series of errors, omissions and misjudgements" by mental health services.

In a statement, the victims’ families said the organisations involved "must bear a heavy burden of responsibility".

The review, published by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on Tuesday, said without action, the issues identified would "continue to pose an inherent risk to… public safety".

The government met the victims' families last week and called for the CQC's recommendations to be implemented in mental healthcare across England.

The families confirmed the meeting with the Department of Health and the Attorney General's Office, which both told the BBC that the prime minister's commitment to a judge-led inquiry into the deaths still stood.

However, the families have insisted the inquiry must be statutory, with the power to compel witnesses to provide evidence.

In an interview with The Sun, external, Mr Webber's mother Emma called for a complete restructure of mental health ­services to prevent attacks similar to the one by Calocane.

She said: "It wouldn’t have taken much looking back in the case files to see he was seriously mentally ill and violent. This attack was always going to happen — it was just a case of when, not if."

She added: “The priority has to be public safety. We can’t have people scared to put their children into holiday clubs, we can’t have ­parents scared to send their children to university or put them on a bus to go to school.

"What’s more important than ensuring that level of safety for the public? We have a right to life.”