Nottinghamshire Police probed by watchdog amid families' 'hiding information' claim

Forensic officers work within a police cordon in Ilkeston Road, Nottingham, following the June 13 stabbings last year
-Credit: (Image: Joseph Raynor/ Nottingham Post)


Nottinghamshire Police is being probed by the policing watchdog over a decision that the victims of the Nottingham attacks families claim was an "attempt to hide information". The press watchdog recently upheld Nottinghamshire Live's right to report that we were asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement before a briefing that revealed killer Calocane had been reported for stalking twice before the Nottingham attacks.

A complaint by Nottinghamshire Police to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) over several of our articles relating to a briefing on Calocane was not upheld, following a four-month long investigation. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which is overseeing the investigation into the force's possible failings before and after the three killings on June 13 last year, has now confirmed it is looking into the force's decision to hold the media briefing in February due to relatives' complaints.

A spokesperson for the IOPC said: “As part of our ongoing investigations into complaints made against Nottinghamshire Police by the families of Ian Coates, Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, we are looking at the force’s decision to hold a non-reportable briefing for media in February this year (2024). The families maintain that this decision was improper and an attempt to hide information.

"Our inquiries include assessing the content of the briefing, the communication of that briefing to the families, and whether it was conducted in line with relevant policies and procedures. We will be considering the IPSO report to establish if it contains any information of relevance to our investigation.”

The IOPC is currently examining Nottinghamshire Police’s decisions and actions relating to Calocane between September 2021 and the events of June 13, how Nottinghamshire Police informed the families of the death of their loved ones, and the support they put in place for them, including how information from the ongoing investigation was communicated to them. Assistant Chief Constable Rob Griffin previously admitted Nottinghamshire Police had been unable to find Calocone in the nine months after a warrant was issued for his arrest in September 2022 - when he had failed to appear in court after being charged with assaulting a police officer.

Emma Webber, mother of 19-year-old Barnaby who was killed by Calocane, said the families of his victims were horrified by the force's conduct following the non-disclosure briefing. "We are aghast to find out that Nottinghamshire Police force have, once again, behaved appallingly," she said, referring to the rebuffed IPSO complaint.

"It serves to reveal just how poorly they are led by their Chief Constable and how they have continually tried to curtail open and honest reporting. They have been thwarted in their attempts to shackle the freedom and important and accurate reporting of the Nottingham Post.

"Without the support, challenging and open reporting from almost all aspects of the British media, the catastrophic failures that we and our loved ones have endured at the hands of multiple agencies regarding the treatment, arrest and sentencing of Valdo Calocane, we firmly believe the actions being taken by our government would not have been possible. As devastated families our fight for justice, individual and organisation accountability and lasting change remains our priority. We will not stop until all of these have been addressed."

Mrs Webber once again reiterated her call for Chief Constable Kate Meynell, who took over the scandal-hit police force in December 2022, to resign. She also explained the families' were concerned about the quality of the IOPC's investigation and communication, to which a spokesperson from the watchdog added: "Our thoughts and sympathies remain with the families of Ian Coates, Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar.

“We are conducting thorough investigations into the families' complaints concerning Nottinghamshire Police and Leicestershire Police and we will continue to update the families on the progress of our work”.

A spokesperson for Nottinghamshire Police said: “On the advice of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, we held a non-reportable briefing for the media following the Nottingham attacks in June 2023.

“These briefings are standard practice, facilitated by the NPCC and are held to help and inform media with their reporting. At no point did we ask any media organisation to sign a non-disclosure agreement, which is a legally binding document. Despite being disappointed with the findings, we have decided not to appeal the decision.

“We remain fully committed to the IOPC investigation and it would not be appropriate to comment any further until this has been completed.”

The spokesman also claimed that at no point did Nottinghamshire Police ask any media organisation to sign a non-disclosure agreement, saying that an NDA is a legally binding document. The spokesman claimed that watchdog IPSO acknowledged this in their findings. In fact, IPSO's findings on this point were as follows:

"While the Committee acknowledged that the parties had not signed a legal document, the Committee noted that press that wished to attend the briefing first had to confirm in writing that they 'agree[d] that this is a non-disclosure briefing, none of the information in this briefing is for reporting' and that the complainant made clear that members of the press would not 'be invited into the meeting unless [they] can confirm and accept the above with an email'.

"In advance of the meeting, the complainant had repeatedly referred to the briefing as a 'non-disclosure briefing' and following the briefing as a 'non-disclosable briefing'. In circumstances where the publication was required to commit in writing not to report the information which was disclosed at the briefing as a condition of attendance, the Committee did not consider that it was significantly inaccurate to describe the arrangement in the terms used by the newspaper.

"For these reasons, the Committee did not consider the articles and social media posts’ references to the briefing to be inaccurate, misleading or distorted and therefore, there was no breach of Clause 1."

The IOPC is currently investigating how Leicestershire Police’s officers reacted to alleged assaults by Calocane in Kegworth, Leicester, the month before his spree of fatal stabbings.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer reaffirmed his commitment that a judge-led inquiry will be held into the Nottingham attacks on Thursday, September 19. The statutory inquiry would see people give evidence and appear as witnesses, with the public also able to access information from the proceedings.