Barnaby Webber family brand Panorama show 'shameful'

The mother of a teenager killed in the Nottingham stabbings has described a BBC Panorama episode about the incident as "shameful".

Emma Webber, from Taunton, Somerset, said the victims' families were not properly consulted about the show, which investigated the mental health background of Valdo Calocane, her son's killer.

Barnaby Webber, 19, Grace O'Malley-Kumar, 19, and Ian Coates, 65, were stabbed to death by Calocane in Nottingham on 13 June 2023.

The BBC said the Panorama team had "been in contact with the families to tell them about the programme" and had "nothing but "the deepest sympathy for the families".

The Nottingham Attacks: A Search For Answers aired last month and questioned whether there were systemic failings in Calocane's interactions with mental health services in the three years leading up to the attacks.

The programme found significant failings in Calocane's mental health care, and doctors had warned he could kill somebody.

Mrs Webber said: "We were not considered or consulted at any point to advise that this was being made. We were presented with it as a fait accompli just 17 days before it aired.

"We cannot demand or expect to always be included in every programme. However given the devastation this has brought upon all three families it is shameful that we were not afforded better conduct by a programme and its makers that should know better."

She added: "We believe we were deliberately excluded in order to have the exposé of the Calocane family 'speaking' for the first time."

Relatives of the victims have made a formal complaint to the BBC about the Panorama episode, saying it contained inaccuracies and had not taken them into consideration.

Calocane was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order earlier this year.

He admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility after Nottingham Crown Court heard he had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

Relatives of Calocane's victims reacted angrily to the sentencing after prosecutors decided not to pursue murder charges.

A BBC spokesperson said: "We have the deepest sympathy for the families, and the Panorama team has been extremely mindful of the sensitivities in handling this programme.

"They have been in contact with the bereaved families to tell them about the programme and to provide details of its editorial focus."

That, said the statement, included telling families "it would include interviews with the Calocane family".

"This investigation, which is very much in the public interest, examines the decline in the mental health of Valdo Calocane and asks whether there were systemic failings in his interactions with mental health services in the three years leading up to the terrible events in Nottingham last year.

"The documentary has been produced in accordance with the BBC's editorial guidelines."

The statement added: "Any complaints will be looked at according to our complaints procedure."

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