The BBC has been condemned for its “imbalanced” and “sensationalised” Panorama episode about the 2023 Nottingham attacks by the mother of one of the victims.
Paranoid schizophrenic Valdo Calocane was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order after fatally stabbing students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley Kumar, as well as school caretaker Ian Coates.
In a new documentary about the attacks, the BBC aired an episode of Panorama in August, named ‘The Nottingham Attacks: A Search For Answers’.
However, Barnaby’s mother, Emma Webber, criticised the UK’s national broadcaster for its Panorama documentary after the BBC “shamefully” interviewed the family of Calocane without consulting the families of the victims.
Emma Webber has blasted the BBC for their ‘sensationalised’ and ‘imbalanced’ Panorama documentary on the Nottingham attack
GB News / Getty
In further upset for the families, the episode has been nominated for “Scoop of the Year” at the British Journalism Awards.
Speaking to GB News, Webber hit out at the BBC for acting “appallingly” in their creation of the documentary, highlighting how “sensationalised” and “imbalanced” it is.
She added: “I’m speaking on behalf of all three families. We understand the freedom of press, the freedom to report and the importance of particularly investigative journalism, especially given the enormity of what’s happened to us and the failures.
“But with this particular programme, they they didn’t consult with us in any way, shape or form. They didn’t inform us that this was was in the making.”
Detailing the timeline of when the families were informed that the programme was going ahead, after it had been completed, Webber revealed: “The 26th of July was the first time we were told that it was happening, and it was due to air on the 12th of August, and it was already in the can.
Valdo Calocane was given an indefinite hospital order in January after pleading guilty to manslaughterGB News“I was told it’s with legals now, and it’s going to answer all the big questions. It’s a great piece of journalism.”
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Expressing her concerns and outrage with the BBC’s documentary, Webber claimed that the Panorama episode portrayed “so many inaccuracies and omissions” about the events of the attack.
Webber said: “There were so many factual inaccuracies and omissions that what was portrayed was a very imbalanced and sensationalised piece of program making.
“As soon as I asked why we weren’t involved in it in any way or informed, we were pretty much told, well, you had your say when the BBC did The Big Cases, which is an extended news piece that aired in January and was filmed throughout the end of last year.
“Then they dropped the bombshell that the Calocane family were speaking for the first time, and I think the penny dropped. And now it’s gone on to have the word ‘scoop’ attached to it.”
Emma Webber told GB News that the families of the Nottingham victims have complained to the BBC
GB News
Telling GB News about the action the families are taking against the BBC, Webber revealed that they have complained to both the BBC and press complaints, and are awaiting an official response.
Webber added: “We’ve gone down the route of complaining to the BBC. They’ve behaved appallingly and continue to behave appallingly. We’re having automated emails, saying that there’s a lot of complaints coming in at the moment, and this will be addressed in due course.
“They’ve now got 20 days where we need to have some form of response, which we’re not hopeful for. So we are going directly to the press complaints.”
In a statement, the BBC said: “We have the deepest sympathy for the families, and the Panorama team has been extremely mindful of the sensitivities in handling this programme.
“Ahead of broadcast of the programme the team were in touch with the bereaved families to give them an outline of the editorial focus of the programme and the families were informed it would include interviews with the Calocane family.
“This investigation was very much in the public interest, with important revelations about failings and unheeded warnings in the mental health care and treatment of Valdo Calocane over a period of several years leading up to the tragic events in Nottingham.
“The documentary has been produced in accordance with the BBC’s editorial guidelines.”