Nottingham attacks: Sons upset at not being told of vigil

By Anthony Bartram

BBC Investigations, East Midlands

The sons of a school caretaker killed in attacks in Nottingham have said they are upset they were not told of and invited to a huge public vigil held two days after his death.

Ian Coates, 65, was killed along with 19-year-olds Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar on 13 June.

Mr Coates’s sons said they learned about the vigil on social media, rather than via the police or council.

They said their dad was “the forgotten man” in the aftermath of the killings.

Mr Coates was driving to work when he was killed by Valdo Calocane, who then stole his van and used it to drive into three pedestrians, leaving them with serious injuries.

Calocane, a paranoid schizophrenic, was sentenced to a hospital order in January after admitting three counts of manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility and three counts of attempted murder.

Mr Coates’s body was found in Magdala Road, an hour after students Mr Webber and Ms O’Malley-Kumar were discovered in Ilkeston Road.

Thousands later gathered in the city centre to grieve and pay their respects.

Nottingham’s Old Market Square saw a sea of people, who turned up under a white banner on the Council House that read “One City #NottinghamTogether”.

The families were invited to the vigil by Nottingham City Council through their family liaison officers.

However, because Mr Coates’s sons were not initially classed as next of kin, they were not assigned a family liaison officer and so were not directly told about the event, and found out about it on social media.

The Old Market Square vigil came the day after another huge gathering at the University of Nottingham.

Mr Webber and Ms O’Malley-Kumar’s fathers – David Webber and Sanjoy Kumar – spoke of their loss to a crowd of about 2,000 students and staff.

The sons have revealed they attended that vigil too privately, and it was then they were told of social media posts about the second gathering.

James Coates, 38, said: “It just felt like we were left behind.

“Picking up the phone and ringing the council ourselves to say, ‘can we come and pay our respects and be part of this?’

“That’s the only way we were there on the day in Old Market Square. It feels like we were left in the dust, like [Ian] was.”

James’s brother Lee, 37, described the aftermath of his father’s death as “a whirlwind”, saying his family “always seemed to be last to get any news about anything”.

James added: “He was the forgotten man, because of his age and because of the circumstances, when he should be celebrated. We’ve all just been left behind. We’ve not been asked how we are and how it’s affected us.”

The Big Cases: The Nottingham Attacks

The story of Barnaby Webber, Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates, who were killed in a series of stabbings by one man on the streets of Nottingham in the summer of 2023.

All three families addressed the large crowd, which included friends and colleagues of the victims, but also total strangers who were affected by the killings.

They were joined by civic and faith leaders, including council leader David Mellen, who told families at the vigil: “The attack on you is an attack on us all.”

Mr Coates’s sons all sported football shirts of his beloved Nottingham Forest with the words “RIP Dad” on the back.

In the crowd, dozens of others were seen wearing shirts of the same football club in solidarity.

“I didn’t expect it,” he said. “We were sat at the front so I couldn’t really see the waves of people who were there. I didn’t want to look up, it was scary to see that many people come out.”

Lee said the event was deeply moving.

“It meant so much to me and our family to see this. We didn’t feel alone anymore,” he added.

In response to the complaint from Mr Coates’s family, the council said the vigil was organised to support the outpouring of “love, compassion and empathy” following the killings.

Nottinghamshire Police and the council say when they were informed that the victims’ families wished to attend the vigils, arrangements were put in place to welcome them.

James and Lee have spoken to the BBC as part of a new documentary that explores of the events of 13 June and what followed.

It also hears from Mr Coates himself, following the discovering of an archived news item featuring his volunteer work with local children.

Lee added: “I’ve met some of those children who are adults now. They told me he made a real difference to break the cycle in their lives. He could see their potential and really took them under his wing.”

After meeting them at the vigil, Mr Coates’s sons say they have forged a strong relationship with the Webber and O’Malley-Kumar families.

They all addressed the media together after Calocane was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court.

The families have expressed anger at the outcome of the case and have called for a public inquiry – strongly criticising the police, mental health services and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Calocane’s sentence will be reviewed after the attorney general said it was too lenient.

Nottinghamshire Police, which admitted it “should have done more” to arrest Calocane prior to the killings, said a warrant for his arrest had been issued after he failed to attend court in September 2022 over an alleged assault on a police officer.

The force is being investigated by the College of Policing and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which is also looking into Leicestershire Police after it emerged the force was looking into a report Calocane had assaulted two colleagues just weeks before the killings.

Nottinghamshire Police Chief Constable Kate Meynell also told the BBC the force had referred itself to the IOPC over its handling of disciplinary procedures, after it emerged a special constable had viewed bodycam footage showing the aftermath of the attacks.

NHS England has ordered a major investigation into Calocane’s contact with mental health services, and his care under the Nottinghamshire Healthcare Foundation NHS Trust is being reviewed by the Care Quality Commission.

Meanwhile, an inspection into the CPS’s involvement has been widened after requests were made by the families, said His Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Inspectorate (HMCPSI), which is carrying out the review.

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