Police 'jumped the gun' to charge Nottingham attacks killer, inquiry told

A prosecutor has told a public inquiry that police "jumped the gun" to charge triple killer Valdo Calocane after he carried out deadly attacks in Nottingham. Calocane pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and to attempted murder after killing Barnaby Webber, Grace O'Malley Kumar and Ian Coates, and seriously injuring three others on 13 June 2023. On Tuesday, specialist prosecutor Alan Murphy, of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), told the inquiry he had received an apology from senior investigating officer Leigh Sanders over the "emergency charge". Murphy said Nottinghamshire Police had appeared to be "under pressure" before the killer was charged. The judge-led Nottingham Inquiry is examining the events that led up to the attacks and the decisions made in the aftermath. Earlier in the inquiry, the senior investigating officer, now retired Det Supt Leigh Sanders, said Calocane had been charged prematurely because he had "mistakenly" believed he was given "verbal authorisation" by the CPS. Sanders denied progressing a charge against the killer early in an attempt to "shut down" stories being published in the media that could expose police faili

Mar 31, 2026 → Mar 31, 2026