Nottinghamshire Police slammed as 'appalling' amid calls for Chief Constable to resign over 'horror' decision

Emma Webber, whose 19-year-old son Barnaby was one of three people killed by Valdo Calocane on June 13 last year, has once again demanded Chief Constable Kate Meynell step down

Nottinghamshire Police has been slammed as "appalling" amid new calls for its boss to resign over a decision related to last year's Nottingham attacks. Emma Webber, whose 19-year-old son Barnaby was one of three people killed by Valdo Calocane on June 13 2023, has once again demanded Chief Constable Kate Meynell step down after the force made an unsuccessful complaint against parts of Nottinghamshire Live's Nottingham attacks coverage.

The press watchdog recently upheld our right to say we had been asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement before a police briefing that revealed killer Calocane had been reported for stalking twice before stabbing Barnaby, 19, his friend and fellow student Grace O'Malley-Kumar, 19, and school caretaker Ian Coates, 65. Nottinghamshire Police had complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) that we had been inaccurate to refer to the arrangement as a non-disclosure agreement, but this complaint was not upheld following a four-month long investigation.

You can read Emma Webber's open letter in full here

In an open letter, speaking on behalf of University of Nottingham student Barnaby's family, Mrs Webber said: "It was with absolute horror and disbelief when I was made aware that the Nottinghamshire Police force had taken it upon themselves to make an official complaint to IPSO towards this outstanding publication. Having read their extensive list of ‘complaints’ I am beyond disgusted. I did not think my opinion of this force and its leadership could sink any lower.

"But it has! We feel this was a weak, futile, ill-judged, and quite frankly abhorrent attempt to quash the freedom of reporting. Every single story and news item was entirely credible, relevant; and whilst damaging in reputation to various agencies and individuals; was most certainly in the public interest."

Mrs Webber added her family had written to Nottinghamshire's Police Crime Commissioner, Gary Godden, to express their "concern and dismay" over the force's conduct. 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, confirmed it is looking into the force's decision to hold the media briefing in February due to relatives' complaints.

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 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.