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The sentence given to Nottingham killer Valdo Calocane was not “unduly lenient”, senior judges have ruled.

Calocane, 32, was handed an indefinite hospital order for the manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility of Grace O’Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber and Ian Coates, and the attempted murder of three others last June.

The attacker’s guilty pleas were accepted after medical evidence showed he has paranoid schizophrenia, with the judge at his sentencing saying he would be detained at a high-security hospital “very probably” for the rest of his life.

Undated handout photo issued by Nottinghamshire Police of Valdo Calocane. Prosecutors have accepted Calocane's pleas of not guilty to murder and guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility due to mental illness, for the murders of Grace O'Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber and Ian Coates, and the attempted murder of three others, in a spate of attacks in Nottingham on June 13 2023. Issue date: Tuesday January 23, 2024.
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Valdo Calocane. Pic: PA

Attorney General Victoria Prentis referred the sentence to the Court of Appeal in February, arguing it was “unduly lenient”.

At a hearing last week, lawyers said Calocane should instead be given a “hybrid” life sentence, where he would first be treated for his paranoid schizophrenia before serving the remainder of his jail term in prison.

However, this was rejected in a ruling on Tuesday from the Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, Lord Justice Edis and Mr Justice Garnham at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

In a summary of the Court of Appeal’s decision, Baroness Carr said: “There was no error in the approach adopted by the judge.

“The sentences imposed were not arguably unduly lenient.”

Grace Kumar, Barnaby Webber and Ian Coates
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Grace O’Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber and Ian Coates were fatally stabbed by Valdo Calocane. Pics: Family handouts

She added: “It is impossible to read of the circumstances of this offending without the greatest possible sympathy for the victims of these terrible attacks, and their family and friends.

“The victim impact statements paint a graphic picture of the appalling effects of the offender’s conduct.

“Had the offender not suffered the mental condition that he did, the sentencing judge would doubtless have been considering a whole life term.

“But neither the judge nor this court can ignore the medical evidence as to the offender’s condition which led to these dreadful events or the threat to public safety which the offender continues to pose.”

Dr Sanjoy Kumar and Dr Sinead O’Malley, the parents of Ms O’Malley-Kumar, were in court for the ruling.

Pic: PA
Parents of Grace O'Malley-Kumar, Dr Sanjoy Kumar and Dr Sinead O'Malley outside the Royal Courts of Justice in central London, after the Court of Appeal refused to change the sentence of Valdo Calocane, who was given an indefinite hospital order for the manslaughter of Barnaby Webber, Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates, and the attempted murder of three others, in Nottingham on June 13 last year. Picture date: Tuesday May 14, 2024.
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Dr Sanjoy Kumar and Dr Sinead O’Malley – the parents of Grace O’Malley-Kumar – attended today’s court hearing. Pic: PA

In a statement afterwards, Mr Webber’s mother Emma said today’s outcome “proves how utterly flawed and under-resourced” the criminal justice system is – and the need for urgent reforms to the UK’s homicide law.

She said: “The fact remains, despite the words of the judge, that almost 90% of people serving hospital orders are out within 10 years and 98% within 20 years. In effect, the families now face their own life sentence of ensuring the monster that is Valdo Calocane becomes the next Ian Brady or Fred West and is never released.

“Given the failed investigation carried out by Nottingham Police, the weak prosecution put forward by East Midlands CPS and the over-reliance on doctors’ reports, there was probably no other conclusion that could be made.”

She said the families’ “fight for justice” would continue, and called for a public inquiry.

“We do not and never will agree that the vicious, calculated and planned attacks carried out were that of an individual who was at zero level of capability,” she said.

“We have never disputed that he is mentally unwell; however, he knew what he was doing, he knew that it was wrong; but he did it anyway. There should be an element of punishment for such a heinous act; alongside appropriate treatment.”

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Calocane was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court in January for the fatal stabbings of 19-year-old students Mr Webber and Ms O’Malley-Kumar and 65-year-old school caretaker Mr Coates in the early hours of 13 June last year.

After killing Mr Coates, Calocane stole his van and hit three pedestrians before being arrested.

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The victims’ families have consistently criticised Calocane’s sentence, with Mrs Webber saying in January that “true justice has not been served”, while Mr Coates’ son James said the killer had “got away with murder”.

At the hearing in London last Wednesday, Deanna Heer KC, representing the Attorney General’s Office, said Calocane’s “extreme” crimes warranted “the imposition of a sentence with a penal element, an element of punishment”.

But Peter Joyce KC, for Calocane, said that none of the offences would have been committed “but for the psychosis” and that imposing a hybrid order would mean he would be “punished for being mentally ill”.

The judges at the Court of Appeal could not examine or change the offences for which Calocane was sentenced and could not look at any new evidence related to the case.

Instead, they could only assess whether the sentence was unduly lenient based on the evidence before the sentencing judge at the time.

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Four people arrested after aircraft vandalised at RAF Brize Norton

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Four people arrested after aircraft vandalised at RAF Brize Norton

Two men and a woman have been arrested on suspicion of a terror offence after two aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, police have said.

A second woman has also been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

Counter Terrorism Policing South East said in a statement: “A 29-year-old woman of no fixed abode, and two men; aged 36 and 24, both from London, were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, contrary to Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

“A 41-year-old woman, of no fixed abode, was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.”

Damage to planes at Brize Norton
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The back of one of the engines covered in paint

Police said the arrests on Thursday in Newbury in Berkshire, and in London, “are in connection with an incident in the early hours of [last] Friday during which damage was caused to two aircraft at RAF Brize Norton”.

The four people are currently in custody while enquiries are ongoing, police added.

Palestine Action said the arrests “further demonstrate that proscription is not about enabling prosecutions under terrorism laws – it’s about cracking down on non-violent protests which disrupt the flow of arms to Israel during its genocide in Palestine”.

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The group posted a video online claiming it was behind the vandalism at the Oxfordshire airbase last Friday, saying activists had damaged two military planes at the base.

Palestine Action – which focuses its campaigns on multinational arms dealers and has previously targeted corporate banks – said two activists “broke into the largest air force base in Britain and used electric scooters to swiftly manoeuvre towards the planes”.

Repurposed fire extinguishers were used to spray red paint into the turbine engines of two Airbus Voyagers, while further damage was made using crowbars.

“Red paint, symbolising Palestinian bloodshed was also sprayed across the runway and a Palestine flag was left on the scene,” a statement by the group said.

Brize Norton is the largest RAF station, with approximately 5,800 service personnel, 300 civilian staff and 1,200 contractors.

A security review was launched across the “whole defence estate” following the breach, which was condemned as “absolutely staggering” by Ben Obese-Jecty, a Tory MP and former Army officer.

Police remove a person taking part in the demonstration. Pic: PA
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Police remove a person taking part in a Palestine Action demonstration in London on 23 June. Pic: PA

Pic: PA
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A Palestine Action supporter during a march in London. Pic: PA

Sir Keir Starmer condemned the “act of vandalism” as “disgraceful”, adding: “Our Armed Forces represent the very best of Britain and put their lives on the line for us every day. It is our responsibility to support those who defend us.”

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Monday that Palestine Action will be proscribed as a terrorist organisation following the breach at RAF Brize Norton.

She said a draft proscription order will be laid in parliament next week, and if passed, it will make it illegal to be a member of, or invite support for, Palestine Action.

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What’s happening to Palestine Action?

Proscription can lead to prison sentences of up to 14 years for some offences, although some breaches are punishable with fines.

Read more from Sky News:
What does proscription mean?
Palestine Action supporters defiant as group faces ban
The ‘enemy within’ or non-violent protesters?

Saeed Taji Farouky, a member of the group, told Sky News the proscription was “completely irrational” and “without precedent”.

He branded it a “knee-jerk reaction from the government” because the group “was able to humiliate them and show serious flaws in the defences of the RAF base”.

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Husband spotted ‘smiling’ on bus after stabbing wife to death found guilty of murder

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Husband spotted 'smiling' on bus after stabbing wife to death found guilty of murder

A man seen “smiling” on CCTV after stabbing his wife to death as she pushed their seven-month-old baby in a pram has been found guilty of murder.

Habibur Masum, 26, launched the “ferocious” attack on 27-year-old Kulsuma Akter after tracing her to a refuge where she went to escape his “violence, jealousy and controlling behaviour”, a court heard.

She suffered more than 25 knife injuries after Masum found her through her phone location and confronted her in a street in Bradford, West Yorkshire, on 6 April last year.

Kulsuma Akter, 27, was stabbed to death in Bradford. Pic: Family handout/PA
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Kulsuma Akter was stabbed to death in Bradford. Pic: Family handout/PA

Habibur Masum 
Pic: West Yorkshire Police
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Habibur Masum. Pic: West Yorkshire Police

After fleeing the scene, he got on a bus where CCTV footage showed him smiling, prosecutor Steve Wood KC told Bradford Crown Court.

He said the image “removed all possible doubt” about his intent and state of mind.

“There were no tears, there was no distress. Perhaps, members of the jury, the smile you can clearly see form as he gets on that bus is as a result of him thinking at that point he’s getting away. The smiling killer,” he told the court.

Habibur Masum  on a bus prior to the murder of Kulsuma Akter
Pic: West Yorkshire Police/PA
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Habibur Masum on a bus prior to the murder. Pic: West Yorkshire Police/PA

After a four-day manhunt, Masum was arrested 150 miles away in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, where he lived when the couple first came to the UK, having met and married in Bangladesh.

He had already pleaded guilty to manslaughter and possession of a knife but denied murder, claiming he had intended to kill himself in front of his wife but “totally lost control”.

On Friday, Masum was convicted of murder, alongside one count of assault, making threats to kill, and one charge of stalking. He was cleared of another charge of assault.

He had no visible reaction as the verdicts were read out. Judge Mr Justice Cotter told him he will be sentenced on 22 July, when the minimum term for his life sentence will be decided.

Habibur Masum seen on CCTV. Pic: West Yorkshire Police
Image:
Masum seen smiling on CCTV. Pic: West Yorkshire Police

Told social worker husband ‘would kill her one day’

Mr Wood described Masum’s relationship with his wife as “abusive… characterised by his jealousy, possessiveness and controlling behaviour”.

After moving to Oldham, Greater Manchester, together in 2022, she left him – moving in first with her brother in July 2023, before being relocated to the Bradford refuge by social services in January 2024.

She left the relationship after he held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her in response to a “completely innocuous” message she received from a male colleague in November 2023, the court was told.

Ms Atker told a social worker afterwards that she “believed that one day her husband would kill her”.

Masum denied the November incident and claimed his wife had fabricated a domestic violence case against him as a way to stay in the UK – as he wanted to return to Bangladesh.

He was subject to court bail conditions ordering him to keep away from her at the time of the murder.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigated both West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester Police’s prior contact with Ms Atker, saying in a statement on Friday that the probe concluded in December – but will not be made public so as not to prejudice the victim’s inquest.

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‘He walked away and left her there to die’

3pm attack in front of onlookers

During the trial, Mr Wood told the jury Masum managed to track Ms Akter to Bradford and, days before the attack, tried to lure her into leaving the refuge by pretending to be from a GP’s surgery and offering her fake appointments.

She was walking with a friend and pushing her son in a pram at 3pm on the day she died when she was confronted by Masum, who she thought was in Spain.

CCTV showed Masum walking with Ms Akter until he stopped her, spun her and the pram around, and pulled a knife from his jacket.

Police body worn camera of Habibur Masum being arrested.
Pic: West Yorkshire Police/PA
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Footage of Masum being arrested. Pic: West Yorkshire Police/PA

“He tried to encourage Kulsuma back into the relationship,” West Yorkshire Police’s senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Stacey Atkinson said outside court after the verdict.

“When she dismissed that, he repeatedly stabbed her in front of horrified onlookers. He left her there to die. He walked away and utilised public transport to facilitate his escape out of Bradford.”

Ms Akter fell to the ground after she was stabbed, in the attack described by Mr Wood as a “cold-blooded, calculated, premeditated murder”.

“As a final act of sheer gratuitous violence, he kicks Kulsuma before moving away, but not before ensuring that he disposed of the knife,” he told the court.

Ms Akter’s stab injuries included ones to her body, neck, and face, he added.

 Habibur Masum was arrested on suspicion of murder - more than 150 miles away from where the incident took place
Image:
Masum was arrested more than 150 miles away from where the incident took place

Claims he wanted to ‘kill himself in front of her’

Giving evidence through a Bengali interpreter, Masum told the jury he tracked down his wife “still optimistic” he could save his marriage, but if that did not work he thought: “I will just kill myself in front of her.”

He broke down in tears as he claimed he “totally lost control”, later saying that the next thing he could remember was walking along the road with bloodstains on his hand.

Habibur Masum walking away after he attacked his wife. Masum.
Pic: West Yorkshire Police/PA
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Masum walking away after the attack. Pic: West Yorkshire Police/PA

But speaking after the court hearing, West Yorkshire Police’s DCI Atkinson said Masum had “realised the extent of evidence against him” so was trying to lean on “diminished responsibility”.

Describing the nature of the murder, she said it was “really unusual” to see “an event unfold on CCTV as it did”.

“Kulsuma suffered a brutal attack in broad daylight whilst her baby son was in his pram,” she said in a statement.

“Kulsuma’s family have been left absolutely devastated by her death, I hope today’s conviction will bring them a sense of justice in knowing that the man responsible for her death has been found guilty.”

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‘Atrocity not accident’: Families of pedestrians killed by drivers running red lights speak out

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'Atrocity not accident': Families of pedestrians killed by drivers running red lights speak out

On the wall of her family’s living room, there is a large framed photograph of Alice Williams on the day of her first communion.

It’s a short walk from that family home to Alice’s grave.

“On her headstone, we’ve put ‘joyful, creative, gentle, kind, bright, loving’ because those are the things that we want the world to know about Alice,” her mother Clare tells Sky News.

“We don’t want them to look at that headstone and think, ‘Oh, she only got to nine, I wonder why’, because then her killer has overwritten everything she was. And it’s not fair.”

Alice Williams
Image:
Alice Williams

Dashcam footage shows Alice, her mother, and brother crossing the road before she was struck
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Dashcam footage shows Alice, her mother and brother crossing before she was struck

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Alice’s killer was 55-year-old Qadeer Hussain who, on a Saturday morning, failed to stop at a red light in Halifax, West Yorkshire, as she was crossing with her mother and brother.

“In front of our eyes he ploughed into her, massively fast, and he carried her off on his wing mirror,” she recalls.

“I’ve just got this very clear image of her being swept off her feet and then she tumbled off and, by the time I got to her, it was almost like she was gone.”

In May, Hussain was jailed for eight years for causing Alice’s death by dangerous driving.

Qadeer Hussain, 55, was jailed for eight years
Image:
Qadeer Hussain, 55, was jailed for eight years

Her parents have chosen to speak publicly to highlight the deadly consequences of drivers running red lights.

Her dad Chris says: “It seems bizarre that you would take any risks at all in breaking the law in order to get somewhere slightly faster.”

“The real risk isn’t being caught. It’s actually killing somebody,” Clare adds.

“He’s quite gratuitously killed my child. He slaughtered her in the street for nothing, for no reason at all.

“He battered her to death and any adult should know that when you speed through a pedestrian crossing, there is a risk that you could do that.”

Alice Williams's parents Clare and Chris
Image:
Alice Williams’s parents Clare and Chris

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The real cost of running a red traffic light

A lack of red light cameras

A Sky News investigation has found that fewer than 1.5% of traffic lights in the UK have red light cameras monitoring them.

Of the 157 local authorities who responded to our request for data or who directed us to their local police forces, many reported no working red light cameras at all.

There are only five in all of Scotland. In West Northamptonshire, the cameras were switched off in 2011 and, in London and Greater Manchester, fewer than 4% of traffic lights have a red light camera.

Only 1.5% of red lights have cameras attached to them across the UK
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Only 1.5% of red lights have cameras attached to them across the UK

Red lights

In Greater Manchester, we also witnessed drivers routinely running red lights at a number of junctions.

Police increasingly rely on dash cam footage submitted by other motorists to take action against drivers who run red lights. The initiative, called Operation Snap, operates nationwide.

Inspector Bradley Ormesher, of Greater Manchester Police, says: “Everyone knows police can’t be everywhere, but a lot of motorists now have dash cams, so effectively they are assisting us in delivering road safety messages. We’ve seen a big increase in submissions.

“There is a bigger picture to everything and just saving a couple seconds by jumping a red light, you’re not thinking about wider society, are you?”

Pat Grace was on her way to clean her local church in Oxfordshire when she was struck and killed by a heavy goods vehicle that failed to stop at a red light on a pedestrian crossing.

Pat Grace
Image:
Pat Grace

Dariusz Meczynski who was jailed for three years
Image:
Dariusz Meczynski who was jailed for three years

The driver Dariusz Meczynski fled the country. He was extradited back to the UK and jailed for three years for causing the 74-year-old’s death by dangerous driving.

Pat’s son Oliver says: “The driver wasn’t distracted just for a second, it was a substantial period of time while he was driving a heavy goods vehicle through a village at 9am. It couldn’t be much worse.

“It could have been a crocodile of schoolchildren crossing the road and he wouldn’t have seen them because he wasn’t looking.

“The chances of being caught are so few and far between. I think there should be cameras on all red lights so there is less chance of getting away with it.”

Pat Grace
Image:
Pat Grace

Dash cams could help

Oliver and Alice’s family are encouraging all drivers to install dash cams.

“We bought a dash cam after this happened,” says Clare. “And we’ve reported four people who went through red lights, and three of them got warnings.

“That is essential because they’re going about thinking they’re invisible and they’re not accountable but actually when they get a warning, hopefully they’ll think again.

“It’s really opened my eyes to how unprotected we are.”

She adds: “We were doing everything we could have done to stay safe. But the only thing that was keeping us safe was a red light bulb and the presumption of goodwill from drivers.

“And I feel like this is being treated dismissively as if it’s an accident when actually it was it was a pure atrocity.”

Red light cameras have since been installed at the crossing where Alice died.

“I’m glad they’re there,” Clare says. “Now they’ve got the cameras and it’s cost whatever they would have cost – plus her life, a lifetime of grief, and all the ripple effects that come from a life without Alice in it.

“She filled our lives with light. She was innocent. She was happy. She loved dancing. She loved singing. She loved us. We just can’t live without her.”

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