London, Jan 30 (PTI) An urgent review has been ordered into the decision by prosecutors to accept manslaughter pleas in the Nottingham attacks case, in which three persons, including a British-Indian teen, were stabbed to death.
Last week, 32-year-old Valdo Calocane, suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, was sentenced to be “indefinitely” detained at the Ashworth Hospital after admitting manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
He killed British-Indian Grace O’Malley-Kumar, her friend Barnaby Webber, both 19, as well as Ian Coates, 65, in June last year.
Prosecutors late last year accepted a plea of manslaughter from Calocane based on diminished responsibility after he denied murder charges in November.
A review of the prosecutor’s decision was ordered by Attorney General Victoria Prentis on Tuesday. It will also look into how the victims’ families were consulted.
Prentis said she ordered the urgent review of the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) handling of the case “so we can properly investigate the concerns raised by the families”.
In a statement, Barnaby’s family had said the CPS did not consult with them on accepting the defence’s manslaughter plea. “Instead, we have been rushed, hastened and railroaded,” family members say.
The families have called for a public inquiry into the case and met Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday to discuss their concerns.
In an interview with ITV on Tuesday, Sunak said he promised that “we will get the answers”.
“What they’ve expressed to me are a bunch of questions about what’s happened that they have,” he said.
“How did the NHS operate? Was mental health properly checked? How was the police investigation conducted? How was the Crown Prosecution Service operating and interacting with them? I think those are all perfectly reasonable questions.” The CPS said it would “fully engage” with the review. PTI HSR GRS AKJ GRS GRS
