Birmingham knife attacks: Mum criticises ‘astonishing failings’ after ‘missed opportunities’ to identify son’s killer
Four opportunities were missed by the authorities to better understand the risk posed by a violent and mentally ill man before he was released from prison and went on to carry out a fatal knife attack, a report has found.
Zephaniah McLeod stabbed Jacob Billington, 23, to death in September 2020 during a series of attacks on victims he chose at random in the early hours of the morning in Birmingham City Centre.
He stabbed seven other people causing serious and life-changing injuries.
Mr Billington’s mother has blamed “astonishing failings and incompetence”, saying prison, probation and mental health services “completely failed the public in their duty to keep us safe”.
Jacob Billington was killed in the attack
Jo Billington said: “All the agencies knew about the offender, they knew he was dangerous and violent, that he didn’t comply with medication, and he had made multiple threats to hurt people. In the end, he carried out those threats.
“Eight innocent people have had their lives changed forever. I will never see what Jacob would have become. He died due to a catalogue of errors and poor practice, and this I simply can’t forgive.”
McLeod ‘not subject to any form of supervision’ after prison release
An independent investigation commissioned by the NHS has found that five months before carrying out the attacks McLeod, who has paranoid schizophrenia and a long history of violent offences, was released from HMP Parc in South Wales “on his sentence end date and was not subject to any form of supervision, nor was he obliged to engage with agencies such as the police if they were to offer him any support”.
It details how prior to that McLeod had told a number of professionals over several years that he could hear voices.
It was also known that he had a history of refusing to take his medication.
In 2018, he told a psychiatrist that he was “hearing voices, both male and female telling him to “kill ’em… stab ’em… they are talking about you”.
McLeod had told a psychiatrist that he was ‘hearing voices’
Following his release from prison in April 2020, there was no record of where he had gone and by July he was deemed to be “lost to services”.
He contacted a GP in August 2020 and a non-urgent referral was made to the Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Trust and he was offered an appointment on 3 September.
After McLeod refused to attend, a new date was set for 24 September. By then he had carried out the attack.
McLeod sentenced to life
He was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 21 years at Birmingham Crown Court in 2021, after admitting the manslaughter of Jacob Billington, four counts of attempted murder and three charges of wounding.
The report outlines contact McLeod had with the authorities – from the time he was first known to the police and criminal justice system in 2007, when he received a caution at the age of 14.
Between 2011 and 2020, he spent most of his time in prison for a string of violent offences. During that time he “was not appropriately treated and medicated”.
Five recommendations have been made to improve services, including a call for the Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust to develop an up-to-date operational policy covering prison discharge services.
It also recommended that the West Midlands MAPPA (Multi-agency public protection arrangements) Strategic Management Board reconsider its decision not to complete a serious case review, which the report’s authors said would be an opportunity to look in more detail at the issues it had raised.
Anne Callaghan, whose son Michael suffered life-changing injuries in the attack, said: “Surely it is the government’s job to protect the public.
Michael Callaghan pictured before the attack
Michael suffered catastrophic injures in the attack
“I believe this incident was clearly predictable and preventable. It has devastated the lives of eight people and all those who care for them; Jacob and Michael are seemingly tolerable statistics to those who resource the system.”
‘These are not missed opportunities’
Mrs Billington said: “We are told about ‘missed opportunities’.
“These are not missed opportunities, these are people not doing their job, these are procedures not being followed and a catastrophic lack of professional standards, leading to a young man losing his life.
“This report, in my opinion, has some very weak recommendations that fail to get to the heart of what went wrong here – different organisations not seeking or sharing information as they are required to do, and procedures and working practices not being followed.
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‘He was stabbed and there’s blood everywhere’
“There appear to be no consequences at all for the agencies involved, and I am not satisfied in any way the failings identified in this report will not continue to happen.
“It is hard to feel reassured that anything will change at all. The situation in Birmingham is not safer than on the night Jacob died.”
NHS England Midlands medical director, Jess Sokolov, said: “I think the first response has to be once again to extend sympathies to the victims and the families, all those who were affected. There was a horrific sequence of events that took place in September 2020.
“What the report is seeking to do is understand where there are missed opportunities, where things could have been done differently and where perhaps next time that would result in a different outcome.”
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A spokesperson for Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust said: ”We would like to publicly express our sincere sympathies to the families and friends of Jacob and Michael.
“Our chief executive and interim chief nurse met with Jo Billington and Anne Callaghan and were deeply saddened to see the terrible impact that this tragedy has had on them and their families’ lives.
“As an organisation, we fully accept the recommendation in the report for us to review the service description of our discharge service.
“We have commissioned a comprehensive review and will update the service description accordingly, to help ensure a similar incident does not occur.”
Sky News has contacted the Ministry of Justice and is waiting for their response.
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The first vote on the assisted dying bill is not only hugely consequential, it’s also hugely unpredictable and even as the vote draws near it still feels like it could go either way.
MPs will debate the bill, brought forward by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, in parliament today before they get a free vote on the legislation.
There are a few reasons why the potential outcome of the vote is difficult to predict. Firstly, the last Commons vote on this issue was back in 2015. It was also a Private Members’ Bill and a free vote, that was defeated by 331 to 119 – 199 MPs didn’t vote and one abstained.
That may seem like a useful starting point to predict future results but there has been an unprecedented turnover of MPs since then.
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It was less than a decade ago but over two-thirds of those MPs from 2015 are no longer in parliament. This means there’s no voting record that can help us out this time round.
Secondly, it’s a free vote so we can’t, as we usually would, look to the political parties to work out the numbers.
Every single one of the 650 MPs must make up their minds for themselves and they have all taken a slightly different approach to the process.
How MPs have told Sky News they will vote on assisted dying
Some came out straight away and declared their position publicly. Some took their time and have only decided in the last few days, putting out statements on social media platforms.
There are also those who prefer to keep it to themselves, and some who are genuinely still undecided and will be until they walk through the voting lobbies.
So, to get a sense of what could happen, at Sky News we have been monitoring declarations as well as reaching out to every MP personally.
This has given us, on the eve of the second reading, an informative but still incomplete picture.
So far we have confirmed that 181 MPs will vote for the bill, while 148 say they will vote against, and 300 are either undecided or haven’t revealed their decision.
There are also 20 MPs that won’t vote – the SNP because the changes won’t apply in Scotland, Sinn Fein who don’t sit in Westminster, and the Speaker and Deputy Speakers.
Of those who will vote but whose position is still unknown, about two-thirds are Labour MPs – a big chunk of those are brand new.
This is the deciding cohort, who just a few months into their roles will make a life-or-death decision that will influence generations to come – no pressure.
Ms Leadbeater has said she hopes parliament will “show itself at its best” by voting in favour of the bill.
In a statement on Thursday night, she said: “I hope this parliament will also be remembered for this major social reform that gives people autonomy over the end of their lives and puts right an injustice that has been left on the statute books for far too long.
“People will be looking in on parliament as it debates this important change to the law – a change that, when we most need it, could bring comfort to any one of us or to somebody we love.”
Read more on assisted dying:
Analysis: Bill could be wrecked by dirty tricks
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How MPs are making up their minds
What does the bill propose?
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Lord Cameron to support assisted dying bill
What could make the difference?
Most MPs tell us they have been poring over the legislation line-by-line and listening intently to their constituents.
But beyond that, there are external factors that will no doubt have influenced their thinking.
Public opinion will be high on the list, with the latest YouGov poll – one of many – showing an overwhelming majority (73%) of the public are in favour of a change in the law.
The other will be how Cabinet ministers vote, with many high profile and respected names, Ed Miliband and Hilary Benn among them, coming out in favour.
MPs will vote in the House of Commons on the bill
More controversial though are those who oppose the bill.
In particular, the Health Secretary Wes Streeting and the Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood have made the news with their views.
They will both have to take a leading role in implementing the legislation if it passes.
Mr Streeting shocked Westminster when he revealed he had changed his mind after voting for the 2015 version.
He also ruffled feathers among colleagues when he appeared to breach the etiquette around free votes, by repeatedly raising concerns around extra pressures on the NHS and making the case for improving palliative care instead.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting changed his mind on the issue. Pic: PA
Mr Streeting’s position and approach have made the bill’s supporters nervous that new MPs will fall in behind him.
In contrast, other big beasts – the prime minister, the chancellor and the foreign secretary – remain silent on which way they will go, aware that their opinions could sway the result.
As it stands, after all the number crunching, it looks likely that this landmark legislation will pass the second reading.
But with so many unknowns, both sides will feel that even at this late stage, it’s still impossible to call.
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