The families of the Nottingham victims have said the attacker “got away with murder” after an independent review found failings involved in his prior NHS care.

Valdo Calocane was allowed to avoid taking long-lasting antipsychotic medication because he did not like needles, the review found.

He also punched a police officer in the face and held his flatmates “hostage”.

Calocane, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order after killing 19-year-old students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, and 65-year-old caretaker Ian Coates, before attempting to kill three other people in June 2023.

Prosecutors accepted a plea of manslaughter after experts agreed his schizophrenia meant he wasn’t fully responsible for his actions.

Solicitor Neil Hudgell, acting on behalf of the families of the victims, said they will meet the government next week to discuss a statutory public inquiry.

‘Make this trauma stop’

Emma Webber, mother of Barnaby, said at a press conference held by the families, that evidence of failures in dealing with her son’s killer would have been “brushed under the carpet” had it not been for campaigning by the victims’ families and that Calcone “got away with murder”.

“None of us should be here today. Anything and everything that could go wrong did,” she said.

“Barnaby, Ian and Grace would be here today if those concerned across these agencies had just done their job properly.”

Mrs Webber said the indefinite hospital order handed to Calocane represented an “enormous miscarriage of justice”.

“He knew what he was doing,” she said. “He serves no punishment for his crimes.”

She added it was “unfathomable” that the families have had to fight for lessons to be learned: “To the prime minister, and the rest of the government, make this trauma stop and make our fight stop.

“You have confirmed there will be a public inquiry, but agree the terms that we’ve been pleading for, make it statutory so all of the agencies, organisations, institutions and, vitally, individuals must… and will be compelled to attend, give evidence and tell the truth.”

Mrs Webber wants a meeting with Keir Starmer: “I do think it’s time now that we get the opportunity to meet with the prime minister,” she said.

‘This is a watershed moment’

The father of Grace, Dr Sanjoy Kumar, said he will be asking the health secretary to order a mental health trust to hold individual doctors responsible for the failures in his daughter’s killer’s care.

Dr Kumar added: “He (Calocane) was sectioned four times. Four times. The psychiatrist failed to change his treatment four times.

“They failed to put provisions in the community to make sure he took his medication, ultimately irresponsibly discharging him into the community to do harm.

“For the loss of our beautiful, brave daughter, Grace, there must be change. This is a watershed moment.

“We demand a public inquiry with statutory powers, powers to compel witnesses to appear to account for their failures.

“We demand accountability and we will not stop until we get justice for the Nottingham attacks.

“A system is made out of individuals – if individuals are not held to account, systems will not change in our country.”

‘Accountability is essential’

Grace’s mother, Dr Sinead O’Malley-Kumar, said there had been poor decision-making and “laziness” among health staff who treated her daughter’s killer.

“If any of them knew that Valdo Calocane was going to go out and share student accommodation with their children, I suspect their choices may have changed,” she said.

“Accountability on an individual level is essential.”

‘The city is a failure’

James Coates, the son of Ian Coates, claimed the people of Nottingham are not safe and he had lost his faith in the local mental health services.

He said: “I want to be proud but I can’t. The city, as a whole, is a failure.”

Talking about the city’s NHS services, he said: “If they take shortcuts, it puts people’s lives at risk.”

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A 15-year-old boy has been charged with murder after a teenager was stabbed to death at a school in Sheffield.

Harvey Willgoose, 15, died after being attacked at All Saints Catholic High School on Monday.

Police said he suffered “serious injuries” and despite the efforts of medics, died a short time after emergency services arrived.

Chris Hartley, deputy chief crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service Yorkshire and Humberside, said: “We have authorised South Yorkshire Police to charge a 15-year-old with murder in relation to the death of Harvey Willgoose, 15, at All Saints Catholic High School on 3 February.

“He has also been charged with possession of a bladed article and one count of affray.”

The boy will appear at Sheffield Youth Court later on Wednesday.

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In a statement released by police, Harvey’s family said their lives would “never be the same again” and they were “utterly heartbroken”.

“We have lost a beloved son, brother, grandson, cousin, nephew and most importantly, a best friend to all,” they said.

“Harvey will be forever known for being a caring, loving and funny young man. At this difficult time we ask you to please respect our privacy as we grieve as a family.”

Paying tribute, Harvey’s sister Sophie Willgoose said: “My heart is broken into a million pieces.”

She posted on Facebook: “I love you so much Harvey… Hug your loved ones a little tighter tonight cos I wish I could.”

All Saints Catholic High School described Harvey as an “immensely popular” student who had “a smile that would light up the room”.

“We are all struggling to process what has happened and our thoughts and prayers are with Harvey’s family and friends at this incredibly difficult time,” it said.

The man who killed three people on the streets of Nottingham was allowed to avoid taking long-lasting antipsychotic medication because he did not like needles.

An independent review also reveals that Valdo Calocane punched a police officer in the face and held his flatmates “hostage”.

He frightened one neighbour so much, she jumped out of a first floor window and seriously damaged her back.

Mental health staff did not visit his home alone.

Calocane, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order after killing 19-year-old students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, and 65-year-old caretaker Ian Coates, before attempting to kill three other people in June 2023.

NHS England initially planned to release only a summary of the report because of data protection laws, but reversed its decision “in line with the wishes of the families”.

Those relatives say the revelation that Calocane was refusing his meds shows he may have been “spared prison on the basis of incomplete evidence”.

Nottingham attacks: Timeline of missed opportunities to stop killer Valdo Calocane
Warning over Nottingham killer years before attack was ‘another kick to the teeth’

Prosecutors accepted a plea of manslaughter after experts agreed his schizophrenia meant he wasn’t fully responsible for his actions.

But in a statement, the families said: “This was a man who actively avoided his medication and treatment, knowing that when he didn’t take his medication he would become paranoid and violent.

“He was responsible for his actions and was allowed to make these decisions by his treating teams, but yet when he came to court, we were told a very different story.”

A “theme” running through Calocane’s clinical records is that he “did not consider himself to have a mental health condition”, the review found.

That meant the importance of medication “never appeared to be understood” by him.

The report detailed four hospital admissions between 2020 and 2022 and multiple contacts with community teams before he was discharged to his GP because of a lack of interaction with mental health services.

Investigators found that “the offer of care and treatment available for VC (Valdo Calocane) was not always sufficient to meet his needs” and this was “not unique” to his case.

Health officials have admitted it is “clear the system got it wrong”.

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Dr Jessica Sokolov, regional medical director at NHS England (Midlands), said: “It’s clear the system got it wrong, including the NHS, and the consequences of when this happens can be devastating.

“This is not acceptable, and I unreservedly apologise to the families of victims on behalf of the NHS and the organisations involved in delivering care to Valdo Calocane before this incident took place.”

Claire Murdoch, NHS England’s national mental health director, added: “Nationally, we have asked every mental health trust to review these findings and set out action plans for how they treat and engage with people who have a serious mental illness, including how they work with other agencies such as the police.

“And we’ve instructed trusts not to discharge people if they do not attend appointments.”

The report, which found Calocane’s risk “was not fully understood, managed, documented or communicated” should be a “watershed moment”, a mental health charity boss has said.

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of mental health charity Sane, said there had been “one hundred such inquiries in the last 30 years”.

She added: “Today’s findings expose the same flaws and fault lines that have resulted in tragedies, yet little seems to have changed.”