Nottingham attacks families call victim records claims ‘sickening’

The households of the Nottingham assault victims have stated claims healthcare employees illegally accessed medical information belonging to their family members are “sickening” and “inexcusable”.

Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, each 19, and Ian Coates, 65, had been stabbed to dying by Valdo Calocane within the metropolis in June 2023.

Dr Manjeet Shehmar, medical director at Nottingham College Hospitals NHS Belief, stated the belief was investigating “issues that members of employees could have inappropriately accessed the medical information” of the three victims.

The households described the information as “distressing and traumatic” in a joint assertion.

“The households of Ian, Grace, and Barnaby have already needed to endure a lot ache and heartache and I am actually sorry that this can add additional to their struggling,” Dr Shehmar stated.

“By our investigation, we’ll discover out what occurred and won’t hesitate to take motion as vital.”

The claims of the medical information being accessed inappropriately had been first reported by the Each day Mirror.

In a joint assertion, the households of Mr Coates, Ms O’Malley-Kumar and Mr Webber stated: “We can not start to explain how distressing and traumatic it’s for us to be taught of but extra revelations relating to the actions of people within the horror of shedding our family members.

“These will not be simply knowledge breaches for us, they’re gross invasions of privateness and civil liberty.

“For individuals to decide on to entry data relating to the vicious assault and homicide of Barney, Grace and Ian with no motive to take action is sickening.

“It is gross and inexcusable voyeurism on the most repugnant degree.

“We all know that while some employees throughout the a number of companies would want to entry information, photos and knowledge, dozens, maybe even tons of, did not.

“God solely is aware of what could have been checked out, mentioned and shared.”

It comes a number of months after an investigation was opened into allegations Ministry of Justice (MoJ) employees illegally accessed laptop information associated to the Nottingham assaults.

A particular constable with Nottinghamshire Police was beforehand sacked for viewing bodycam footage exhibiting the aftermath of the assaults.

Within the June 2023 assault, Calocane killed Mr Webber, Ms O’Malley-Kumar and Mr Coates, earlier than utilizing Mr Coates’s van to drive into three pedestrians – Wayne Birkett, Marcin Gawronski and Sharon Miller – within the metropolis centre.

Calocane was sentenced to a hospital order in January 2024 after admitting manslaughter on the grounds of diminished accountability.

Following Calocane’s sentencing, the households had been extremely essential of the police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

A subsequent evaluation into the CPS discovered that whereas prosecutors had been proper to just accept Calocane’s pleas of manslaughter on the premise of diminished accountability, they may have dealt with the case higher.

There have been quite a lot of different critiques, together with an investigation into the NHS psychological healthcare and therapy he obtained previous to the killings, printed in early February.

This recognized a list of failings, together with that Calocane, who has paranoid schizophrenia, was not compelled to take his anti-psychotic treatment partially as a result of he didn’t like needles.

And it discovered he had no contact with psychological well being companies or his GP for about 9 months previous to the killings – after he was discharged when he repeatedly failed to have interaction with them.

Shortly after the findings had been printed, it was introduced {that a} judge-led public inquiry into the assaults would happen “inside weeks”.

This was welcomed by the households, who tearfully applauded the information throughout a gathering at No 10 Downing Road and referred to as it a “watershed second”.

They had been informed by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer a “variety of completely different companies” could be scrutinised.