Deborah Taylor to lead probe into deadly 2023 incident amid families’ calls for truth and accountability
A distinguished retired judge who once jailed former Wimbledon champion Boris Becker is to chair the inquiry into the horrific Nottingham attacks, ministers confirmed in Parliament on Tuesday.
Deborah Taylor, who served as the resident judge at Southwark Crown Court and as recorder of Westminster until her retirement in 2022, will lead the high-profile statutory inquiry into the tragic events that left three people dead and several others seriously injured in June last year.
Ms Taylor is well known for presiding over several significant cases, including the jailing of tennis star Boris Becker in 2022 for concealing assets during bankruptcy proceedings, and for sentencing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in 2019 for breaching bail conditions. She is widely respected across the legal profession for her firm but fair approach.
The announcement came during a session in the House of Commons, where family members of the Nottingham victims – including the parents of 19-year-old students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, and the family of school caretaker Ian Coates, 65 – were present to hear the formal confirmation.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood told MPs: “I can today confirm that the retired judge Deborah Taylor, a very experienced and highly regarded member of the judiciary, will chair the Nottingham attacks inquiry. She will begin her work imminently, and we are committed to ensuring the inquiry proceeds with pace and transparency.”
The statutory inquiry was pledged by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak following a February meeting with the victims’ families. It will examine how a man with a long history of serious mental health issues, Valdo Calocane, was able to carry out a deadly series of attacks despite repeated contact with police and mental health services.
Calocane fatally stabbed Barnaby and Grace as they walked home from a night out, before killing Mr Coates and attempting to murder three more people by driving into them with a stolen van. In January this year, he was handed an indefinite hospital order after pleading guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility and attempted murder.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick, who has long supported the families’ campaign for a full investigation, welcomed Ms Taylor’s appointment and reaffirmed the need for accountability.
Speaking outside Parliament, Emma Webber, mother of Barnaby Webber, gave an impassioned statement: “Barney, Grace and Ian have paid the ultimate price for what we believe is a shameful level of incompetence across a number of public agencies. That must not be in vain.
“We welcome the inquiry, and we welcome Deborah Taylor’s leadership. Over the course of this process, the truth will come out. Wrongs will be righted. We will ensure that happens, however long it takes and however painful it may be.
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“We call upon every agency and every individual involved to face this moment with honesty. There must be no more excuses, no more cover-ups. We expect truth, responsibility, and real change to emerge from this.”
Justice Secretary Mahmood echoed those sentiments in the Commons, promising that the inquiry would not be a “box-ticking exercise”, but rather a meaningful examination into “the systemic failures which may have contributed to this tragedy”.
The terms of reference for the inquiry are expected to be finalised in the coming weeks, with public hearings anticipated to begin later this year.
Campaigners and bereaved families are now urging a wider overhaul of the way mental health risks are managed by police, health services and government departments. For many, the hope is that this inquiry will be the catalyst for lasting reform that prevents future tragedies.
