“They haven’t shown sensitivity to the traumatised family” a media lawyer has fumed as he slammed BBC Panorama for its latest documentary on the Nottingham killings that took place last year.
Barnaby Webber, Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates were killed in a knife attack last June by Valdo Calocane.
Emma Webber, Barnaby’s mother, has now claimed that the families of the victims were not asked to be a part of the documentary that is set to include interviews with the killer’s family.
Speaking to GB News, media lawyer Jonathan Coad said: “It does seem that the BBC has not shown sufficient sensitivity towards people who must have been absolutely traumatised at the time and will inevitably suffer further trauma watching the story of the events being played out on television.”
Jonathan Coad claimed that the BBC “dropped the ball”
GB News
He added: “I think it probably was cruel. I’m slightly hesitant because Panorama is a wonderful program.
“The BBC does amazing work. I’ve worked with and I’ve worked against the BBC. It does seem to be one of those occasions where the BBC has dropped the ball.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
“I think in their defence, they make amazingly good quality programmes most of the time.
“But there’s this lady’s absolute heartbreak and distress and that’s surely the feeling of the relatives of the victims. And I think that the BBC didn’t have to do very much to accommodate their concerns.”
“I completely agree that in the circumstances in that these the living victims of this, this damaged and dangerous man were going to be traumatized again by this program,” the media lawyer explained.
“You’d think that perhaps as an act of humanity, they would have been given some opportunity to to have their say, albeit briefly, about how this has affected them.”
Barnaby Webber, Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates were stabbed in the street and killed in the early hours of June 13Composite: PA; Huntingdon Academy
Calocane was given a hospital order instead of a prison sentence after being convicted of manslaughter rather than murder due to his paranoid schizophrenia
Speaking to The Sun, Emma Webber revealed that after she heard about the “almost cruel” Panorama documentary, she wrote to the BBC to complain, but was told by the broadcaster that releasing the interviews was in the public interest.
She said: “This is my son that we’re talking about. This is a story of this monster that brutally and ferociously attacked and killed him.
Charlie Webber and Emma Webber at a memorial for the Nottingham killings
PA
“It’s absolute horror… Every waking moment, my thoughts are haunted by what that individual did to my son.
“Any investigative journalism that helps to uncover all of the failings of this horror is welcomed…
“But the way this has been carried out by the BBC concerns me, because I can’t see how it’s balanced without us being involved or having prior knowledge of the contents.”