‘We want the truth’ – families of Nottingham attacks victims speak ahead of public inquiry

Asha Pateland

Emily Williamson,East Midlands

“It’s taken a long fight to get here.”

Dr Sanjoy Kumar told the BBC he had a “tear in his eye” when Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced a public inquiry into the Nottingham attacks last year.

His 19-year-old daughter Grace O’Malley-Kumar died trying to protect her friend and fellow student Barnaby Webber, with the pair stabbed to death by Valdo Calocane as they walked home from a night out in Nottingham on 13 June 2023.

Calocane’s attacks, which also saw Ian Coates killed and three others seriously injured, are being scrutinised as part of the Nottingham Inquiry, which will begin nine weeks of hearings in London from Monday.

Families of Calocane’s victims and survivors have spoken of their fight for answers, and hope for the “full truth” ahead of the hearings.

The inquiry will examine the events that led to the attacks, the decisions and actions by various agencies – including the NHS and police forces – and the way Calocane, who had a history of mental health issues, was monitored.

While it is still difficult for Kumar to refer to his daughter in the past tense, he said Grace was behind his motivation to keep pursuing accountability.

“She is the driving force behind everything that we do and everything that I do, and we will be relentless,” he said.

Kumar said he wanted to see changes in the mental health system to prevent future killings.

“The only way we will do that is by holding people accountable, otherwise things won’t change.

“We want absolute transparency. Patients and relatives deserve transparency,” he said.

Police officers and NHS employees, who were involved in Calocane’s mental healthcare, are among those expected to give evidence.

Calocane had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia prior to the attacks.

After being assessed by several psychiatrists, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) accepted his pleas of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, and he was sentenced to a hospital order in January 2024.

After lobbying from the bereaved families, survivors and campaigners, the prime minister agreed to the inquiry last year.

What Kumar – who works as a GP – does not want to hear is that the attacks were “a result of cost cuts”.

He said: “I’ve been in the NHS since 1994, there has never been a time when we’ve had money but as a GP, I’ve done my job.

“Did people wake up in the morning and do the jobs that they’re paid to do?”

Kumar believes there were several people involved in Calocane’s care who did not.

For Emma Webber, the mother of Barnaby Webber – who was walking home with Grace when Calocane fatally attacked them – the beginning of the inquiry hearings comes with a sense of “validation”.

“I’m a little bit anxious – a bit of trepidation – but I just want to get on with it now because it’s been a very long, painful fight,” she told the BBC.

In short, Webber wants “the truth”.

“I mean the proper truth, not just versions thereof,” she added.

Despite the various reviews that had already taken place, hearing evidence from individuals was the level of accountability Webber said she and the other affected families wanted.

Webber said it was “easy to be suspicious and negative” about the organisations the families had encountered, but said she “had to put my faith in this inquiry”.

“Ultimately, when all of the true horrors and failings are unveiled, then we have to have that accountability but change and proper change within the law and legislation to make everybody safer,” she said.

“I can’t [stop]. I have to do it for Barney,” she said.

Webber added: “We want those key things addressed but we do want it to be positive so that it helps the public, including those who are unwell and the institutions that are there to manage and treat them moving forwards.”

In some ways, Wayne Birkett considers himself “privileged”, having had no memory of what happened to him on the day of the attacks.

The 62-year-old was struck by the van Calocane was driving – a vehicle he had stolen from Coates after killing him – along with pedestrians Sharon Miller and Marcin Gawronski. All three were seriously injured.

He also lost the memories of his entire life before the attack.

Nearly three years on, Birkett said “nothing’s changed”.

“My memory’s still poor, headaches are still there, legs are still a problem, sleeping is still a problem,” he said.

Birkett said he still struggled with the confidence to leave the house, at the thought of being stopped and spoken to by friends he had known for years, but of whom he had no memory.

Gradually, he has learned more about what happened the day of the attacks.

“There’s a lot of questions for the police, there’s a lot of things that need answering.

“With the [mental health NHS trust] – they’ve got a lot to answer for as well,” he said.

Birkett will be at the inquiry alongside the victims’ families.

“I’m feeling really nervous about being there but I want to hear what I want to hear – the truth, from everybody,” he said.

Greg Almond, a solicitor representing Birkett and fellow survivor Sharon Miller, said the victims and bereaved family members had “shown remarkable courage in seeking accountability, justice, and change by lobbying for the Nottingham Inquiry”.

“The start of the inquiry marks a watershed moment for those affected by the attack, and for the people of Nottingham,” he said.

“This is the first real step in a long overdue process to establish what happened and why. We have full confidence in the inquiry, and expect it to rigorously uncover the truth and deliver the answers our clients deserve.”

The Nottingham Inquiry – chaired by retired judge Her Honour Deborah Taylor – will hear evidence until the end of May.