Nottingham attack victim’s mother condemns police failing to warn families of stalker threat: ‘How much more do we have to endure?’

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'I can’t ever have peace until I’ve gotten answers. And people who have failed have been held to account,' Emma Weber said

The mother of Nottingham attack victim Barnaby Webber has condemned Nottinghamshire Police for failing to warn her and other affected families of a stalker.

Emma Webber, whose son Barnaby was murdered alongside Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates by Valdo Calocane in 2023, questioned: “How much more do we have to endure?”

Speaking to GB News, Mrs Webber said the families had been exposed to further distress after discovering an individual with a serious history of mental illness and violence had allegedly been looking for them.

“It just keeps on twisting. It just keeps on failing. And the rock gets worse,” she said.

“How much more do we have to endure and how low can they sink?”

“I’m not saying it as a generic for all of the police in this country. It’d be terrifying if they were all as bad as the ones we’ve encountered.”

“This is failures to keep us, as Barney’s family and Grace’s family and Ian’s family, safe,” she said, adding: “And it keeps on happening.”

Mrs Webber said her family had only discovered the extent of the alleged stalking in recent weeks, after information emerged through disclosures connected to the public inquiry.

She said they had previously been told only the individual had a “special interest” in supporting the families, but that the reality appeared to be much more serious.

“We were never told that this individual had directly been looking for us,” she said.

The individual was allegedly known to authorities and had a history of severe mental illness, including hospitalisation under the Mental Health Act, while also having links to the Prevent programme.

Mrs Webber said she was particularly concerned for her surviving son Charlie, pointing out how easily the family’s home and his school could potentially be identified.

Fellow victim parent Dr Sanjoy Kumar, Grace’s father, has also spoken out about the ordeal.

He previously revealed that the man had turned up at his GP surgery but said police had not told him about the individual’s history or risk level.

“How can Nottingham Police think that that’s appropriate in any way, shape or form not to protect and to inform all of the families and survivors of this horror?” Mrs Webber questioned.

“We just want the truth. I can’t ever have peace until I’ve gotten those answers. And people that have failed have been held to account.”

Mrs Webber warned “difficult conversations” must be held in the UK on issues like racial bias to prevent further devastating consequences.

She said: “If not, there will be more Barnabys, Graces, and Ians; there will be more Southports. There will be more Henry Nowaks.

“You would not want to spend a minute in my soul, in what I have to think about and endure every day.”

She said the Nottingham families would continue to push for answers through the public inquiry, with further oral submissions due to take place.

“We have to have those conversations,” she said. “Because you know what? If not, there are going to be more Barnabys, Graces and Ians.”