The mother of a student murdered in the Nottingham attacks has warned that without urgent action, a similar tragedy will happen again. Speaking at a press conference in London, Emma Webber said there had been a “catastrophic collapse of responsibility” and an “undoubted miscarriage of justice.” Her son Barnaby Webber, 19, was stabbed to death along with Grace O’Malley-Kumar, 19, and school caretaker Ian Coates, 65, by Valdo Calocane on 13 June 2023. Calocane, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2020, also tried to kill three other people with a stolen van. He is now serving an indefinite hospital order after pleading guilty to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility.
The public inquiry into the attacks lasted 14 weeks, heard from 164 witnesses, and concluded its oral hearings on Friday 16 August 2025. It examined the lead-up to the attacks and the response afterwards, laying bare a series of failures by the NHS, police and other agencies. Emma Webber said: “Every single agency failed. Every single one, without exception.” She described a “cover-up over candour” and said “the fear of stigma and bias was placed above safety and duty.” The inquiry chair, retired senior judge Deborah Taylor KC, is expected to release a report with recommendations in spring 2026.
“Explains the Nottingham attacks public inquiry and its findings.”
Why does this matter to UK readers? Public inquiries are a key tool for examining major tragedies, but they often take years to conclude and their recommendations are not legally binding. The families’ anger at the system has prompted calls for immediate government action, not just a wait for the final report. The case also highlights long-standing concerns about how mental health services and police handle individuals with severe mental illness. Emma Webber said: “There are many Valdo Calocanes amongst us out there. I think if urgent action doesn't happen, it will continue.”
Q: What were the failures in the lead-up to the Nottingham attacks? The inquiry heard that multiple agencies—including Nottinghamshire Healthcare Foundation Trust and police—failed to properly treat and manage Calocane, who had been under their care for three years before the killings. Warnings were ignored, agencies didn't share information, and individuals chose to look the other way, according to the families.
Q: Why do the families say there was a miscarriage of justice? The families believe the attacks were avoidable and that Calocane’s manslaughter plea—allowing him to avoid a murder conviction and a life sentence—was a failure of the legal system. They say the system “let him plead to manslaughter” and that accountability for individuals and institutions is lacking.
Q: What happens next in the inquiry process? Core participants will present closing statements at hearings in September 2025. The chair, Deborah Taylor KC, will then produce a final report with recommendations, expected in spring 2026. The families are calling for urgent action before that report is published.
The families have demanded a meeting with the government within a month and want “urgent re-examination” of the failures. James Coates, Ian Coates’ son, said that for “what felt like a very long time” he believed institutions did everything they could, but now sees they closed ranks and marked their own homework. Emma Webber concluded: “This isn't about vengeance, it's about doing the right thing, writing this grievous wrong and changing the systems that failed.”