Attacks families vow to stand united with other stab victims

EMMA WEBBER SLAMS 'WOEFULLY INADEQUATE, FAILING' MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE

- By JOSH PAYNE, PA

THE mother of a student killed in the Nottingham attacks says the victims' families stand united with anyone affected by stabbings carried out by those under the care of a “woefully inadequate” mental health trust.

Emma Webber, mother of Barnaby Webber, said the failings of the Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust “continue to concern but sadly not surprise us” following the news that two men with paranoid schizophrenia, treated by the trust, stabbed people in separate incidents weeks before the attacks.

Josef Easom-Cooper and Junior Dietlin attacked six men in the county in 2023.

Dr Susan Elcock, deputy chief executive and executive medical director at the trust, apologised “for any aspect of our care which was not of the high standard our patients, their families and our communities deserve”.

Another trust patient, Valdo Calocane, killed students Barnaby and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, and caretaker Ian Coates, 65, before trying to kill three other people in June 2023.

A report into Calocane's care said he was not forced to take long-lasting anti-psychotic medication because he did not like needles.

On behalf of the Nottingham families, Ms Webber told the PA news agency: “Unless we expose those who are failing individually then nothing will ever change.