Families of the Nottingham stabbing victims have demanded an urgent meeting with Sir Keir Starmer over plans to change the law and see the killer tried for murder.The parents of 19-year-old students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, and the sons of caretaker Ian Coates, also want public servants, medics and police to be properly held to account after mentally ill Valdo Calocane stabbed the trio to death during a rampage in 2023.Calocane is currently serving an indeterminate hospital order after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility over the atrocity, carried out three years ago this weekend.But the families remain angry the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) did not push for a murder conviction, which would have raised the prospect of evidence of institutional failings being raised in open court.An inquiry into what happened concluded last week, uncovering a litany of what the families described as 'missed opportunities' to prevent the attacks.They are bullish about what they want to come from the three-and-a-half-month probe. At a press conference in central London today, Barnaby's mother Emma Webber told reporters: 'There is the undoubted miscarriage of justice that must now be addressed - "Valdo Calocane got away with murder".'No murder conviction, no trial, no proper punishment that reflects what he did. Grieving family members of the Nottingham stabbing victims (left to right): Lee Coates, James Coates, Darren Coates, Emma Webber, David Webber, Dr Sanjoy Kumar and Dr Sinead O'Malley Kumar, during a press conference with the families of the Nottingham attack victims The three people killed by a mentally ill man in Nottingham in 2023: (left to right) Ian Coates, Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar 'That decision robbed Barnaby, Grace and Ian of justice, and it robbed us of the truth in a court of law.'A seriously mentally unwell man, yes - but one that knew entirely what he was doing.'We cannot let this stand - there must be immediate recourse. The sentencing, the charging decisions, the entire handling of the case needs urgent independent re-examination.'She added: 'We will not accept that a triple killer avoids accountability through his own manipulation and legal technicalities.'Mrs Webber singled out senior members of the Government the families want to meet with to discuss the evidence heard during the inquiry, the perceived failure for professionals to be held accountable for their actions, and the potential to look at existing legislation and regulations to do with mental health.This included the Prime Minister, the Attorney General Lord Hermer, new Health Secretary James Murray, and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.The inquiry heard Calocane had been sectioned four times in the three years before he struck on June 13 2023, but he was repeatedly released back into the community despite concerns about his deteriorating behaviour.A consultant psychiatrist even warned he 'could end up killing someone' when he was first sectioned in 2020. Emma and David Webber said Calocane 'got away with murder' Dr Sanjoy Kumar, pictured with Dr Sinead O'Malley-Kumar, said their daughter's killer should have received a mandatory life sentence Darren Coates, right, oldest son of Ian Coates, pictured with his brothers Lee, left, and James, centre, said the families will not stop until the medics and others who dealt with Calocane have been suitably punished He had a history of violence and reportedly assaulted two colleagues at the factory where they worked just weeks before he struck.Yet Leicestershire Police called to the scene did not realise Calocane already had an outstanding warrant for his arrest by Nottinghamshire Police for allegedly assaulting an emergency worker.Calocane repeatedly misled medical professionals in Nottingham, refusing to take a certain type of medication because of his supposed fear of needles - despite getting Covid jabs.He was discharged from his specialised mental health team to his GP around nine months before he struck, after failing to engage with them.And it was revealed the mental health team previously flagged concerns about sectioning Calocane, who is originally from Guinea-Bissau in West Africa, in case it was seen as racist.Mrs Webber added: 'Every single agency failed, every single one, without exception.'Mental health services failed to treat and manage, police repeatedly failed to act, agencies didn't talk, individuals chose to look the other way, warnings were ignored.'People chose not to care or be curious, and the fear of stigma and bias was placed above safety and duty, and when it went wrong, too many closed ranks instead of owning their mistakes.' Calocane is currently serving indefinite hospital order for the killing spreeDr Sanjoy Kumar, the father of first-year student Grace, said Calocane 'should have been convicted of the cold-blooded, calculated murder of innocent people' and should have received a life sentence.He said he hoped the case - and its fallout - would 'make our country safer'.Darren Coates, oldest son of 65-year-old Mr Coates, said the families wanted 'action against the public servants' involved in Calocane's care before and after he struck.He said: 'The families, we have been forced into this situation.'And together, we are not going to stop - we are so powerful now. We are not going to stop until these changes are made.'Solicitor Neil Hudgell, who worked with the families throughout the inquiry, admitted there were currently no legal measures which would allow CPS to charge Calocane with murder.But he said: 'These families have campaigned hard in many respects, and I don't put it past them to achieve change in the law to allow that to happen.'That's part of the approach to government, to ministers, to the Prime Minister, to the Health Secretary.Inquiry chairwoman Her Honour Deborah Taylor is expected to report back with her findings and recommendations next summer.
Families call on Starmer to act so triple killer can face murder probe
The family members of Nottingham stabbing victims Ian Coates, Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar said their loved ones' killer 'got away with murder' and are demanding change.











