The grieving mother of Somerset student Barnaby Webber has branded a BBC documentary about his killer as “shameful”. Emma Webber, from Taunton, criticised the BBC Panorama programme which investigated the mental health background of triple killer Valdo Calocane and asked “what lessons can be learned” from the attacks.
Barnaby, whose grandparents live in Exeter, and fellow University of Nottingham student Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both aged 19, and school caretaker Ian Coates, aged 65, were stabbed to death by Calocane in Nottingham on June 13, 2023. The Panorama episode which aired last month – titled The Nottingham Attacks: A Search For Answers – featured members of the Calocane family to help “shed light on the missed opportunities in his care”, according to the show’s synopsis.
But Barnaby’s mother Emma today told the Sunday Mirror newspaper: “We believe what the BBC produced is a very imbalanced documentary – it’s shameful, cold, ill-judged, arrogant and thoughtless.”
Relatives of the victims have made a formal complaint to the BBC about the Panorama episode as they believe it contains “inaccuracies, was too sympathetic towards the knifeman’s family and they were refused a preview screening”, according to the newspaper. Ms Webber said: “We were not considered or consulted at any point to advise that this was being made.”
The families’ lawyer Neil Hudgell told the Mirror: “They were told as a ‘fait accompli’ when the piece was airing, they had no opportunity to be involved. Had they been consulted they could have pointed out some obvious factual errors.
“They believe they were excluded so the programme could promote the narrative that the Calocane family were victims too. They were not afforded an early viewing and were caused considerable additional anxiety in the run-up to it airing, having to speculate on what it may or may not cover. Their fears were confirmed.”
He added: “They have no interest in compensation, this is about proper accountability based on fair, proper and accurate reporting. It is about setting the record straight.”
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.
“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 spokesperson added: “Any complaints will be looked at according to our complaints procedure.”