THE mum of a Nottingham knife attack victim says she feels “let down” after learning the BBC’s Panorama will air interviews with the family of the killer.
Emma Webber’s son Barnaby and his friend Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, and school caretaker Ian Coates, 65, were stabbed to death by Valdo Calocane in June last year.
Paranoid schizophrenic Calocane, 32, got a hospital order for manslaughter by diminished responsibility.
Emma says she is now facing “unimaginable horror” after being told two weeks ago that the BBC will air an episode of Panorama tomorrow titled The Nottingham Attacks: A Search For Answers.
The programme is understood to be about the decline in Calocane’s mental health and his treatment by NHS services leading up to the attack.
But Emma said the victims’ families were not offered the chance to contribute to it and the BBC is refusing to let them see it before it airs or give them an idea of its content.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting is also understood to have raised concerns with the BBC about the lack of engagement with the victims’ families and urged them to let them see it before broadcast.
Emma, 51, said: “All three families feel very disappointed and alarmed at the way they have managed this.
“We feel very let down, very disappointed. We expected better — we deserve better.
“The thought of seeing that family — seeing their faces and hearing their voices — brings me unimaginable horror.
“It’s so alarming and it’s causing so much stress and trauma to people who are already shattered. It’s almost cruel.”
After learning about the programme Emma complained — but was told by Panorama’s editor that it was in the public interest so will be going ahead.
Emma accused the Beeb of failing in its duty of care and with its editorial policy.
She said: “This is my son that we’re talking about. This is a story on this monster that brutally and ferociously attacked and killed him.
“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.”
The BBC said: “The documentary has been produced in accordance with the BBC’s editorial guidelines.”
