IOPC staff removed from Calocane inquiry as police-oversight probe expands

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has removed some staff from its investigation into the Valdo Calocane case after allegations that they provided officers with details of the inquiry. The move comes as the watchdog confirmed it has reopened an inquiry into Leicestershire Police officers following new evidence about Calocane assaulting two people in May 2023, weeks before he fatally stabbed Ian Coates, Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar in Nottingham on 13 June 2023.

In March, the IOPC said it reopened its investigation into Leicestershire Police following new evidence about Calocane's May 2023 assault; the decision followed representations by the bereaved families. The Times reported that investigators told officers they would “get off with words of advice or reflective practice” — the lowest form of sanction — and that the disciplinary case was “being driven by the families of the victims.”

Calocane, who had paranoid schizophrenia, fatally stabbed Ian Coates, Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar on 13 June 2023. He was later sentenced to a hospital order in January 2024, a disposition the court imposed after finding him to be of unsound mind at the time of the killings. The IOPC acknowledged the seriousness of the allegations and said the reopening of the Leicestershire inquiry was part of its response to new information about Calocane’s conduct before the Nottingham attacks.

An IOPC spokesperson said: "We are aware of allegations made about IOPC staff by Leicestershire Police officers who are subjects of an IOPC investigation. The allegations involved comments alleged to have been made about that investigation. We are treating this matter extremely seriously and have commissioned an external party to investigate them alongside other complaints about the investigation made by the families of the victims. We will continue to provide the families with regular updates as these matters progress."

Emma Webber, the mother of Barnaby Webber, and Dr Sanjoy Kumar, the father of Grace O'Malley-Kumar, attended a memorial walk in Nottingham to mark the second anniversary of the attacks. Webber told BBC Radio 4's Today programme she was “not terribly surprised given our interactions with the IOPC,” describing the allegations as indicative of a broader institutional crisis and saying the process has left the families with a sense of “horror” about the public inquiry landscape.

The IOPC said it would continue monitoring the investigations and would share further updates with the families as progress unfolds, emphasizing its commitment to transparency and external scrutiny in response to the concerns raised by those affected by the Nottingham attacks.