Nottingham Victim's Mother Forms Bond with Southport Families, Demands Change
Emma Webber, the mother of Nottingham attack victim Barnaby Webber, has revealed she has formed a special bond with the parents of one of the young girls murdered in Southport. Speaking exclusively, she declared: "Together we demand change."
Unimaginable Loss and Shared Solidarity
Emma Webber's world was shattered when paranoid schizophrenic Valdo Calocane killed her son and two others during a violent rampage in Nottingham in 2023. As a statutory inquiry into the tragedy continues to expose catastrophic blunders by police and mental health services, Emma now stands in solidarity with the families of Elsie Dot Stancombe, Alice Da Silva Aguiar, and Bebe King—all knifed to death by Axel Rudakubana in Southport.
Emma told the Mirror: "The family of one of the girls got in touch and we've stayed in touch—we're hoping to get a chance to meet in person soon. As a mother who's been through unimaginable loss, I stand in deep solidarity with the families from Southport. No parent should ever bury their child."
Systemic Failures Exposed
Multiple agencies were aware of serious risks posed by both Calocane and Rudakubana but failed to intervene effectively. Emma emphasized: "We're in the middle of a far-reaching public inquiry, yet we know we're not the exception to institutional failures. Attacks like these expose cracks that were already there. Together we demand accountability and change, so no other family has to suffer like this."
Her comments come as a report from the first stage of the Southport inquiry—established to examine the circumstances surrounding the attack—is due for publication. Teen knifeman Axel Rudakubana murdered six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and nine-year-old Alice Da Silva Aguiar, while injuring ten others during a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club on July 29, 2024.
Prevent Scheme and Mental Health Blunders
It later emerged that the UK's Prevent counter-terror scheme prematurely closed Rudakubana's case three times between 2019 and 2021, despite teachers highlighting his obsession with extreme violence. A string of similar errors has been laid bare at the Nottingham inquiry, which enters its seventh week.
Paranoid schizophrenic Valdo Calocane hid near Nottingham's Ilkeston Road before fatally stabbing Barnaby Webber and his friend Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, and grandfather Ian Coates, 65, in the early hours of June 13, 2023. The inquiry heard that despite admitting to hearing voices and displaying extreme aggression, Calocane was discharged back to his GP due to "non-engagement." Mental health professionals also decided not to detain him over a violent incident, fearing accusations of racism.
Trauma and Demands for Reform
Reacting to these findings, Emma previously stated: "The trauma that we've already had has been multiplied immeasurably. I didn't know some of the details we now know, because I was trying to protect myself. All of us are so traumatised by all of this. The reality of it and the horror of it slapped me in the face, ran over me like a steam train."
Emma's bond with the Southport families underscores a growing movement among victims' relatives to push for systemic reforms in mental health care, policing, and counter-terrorism protocols. Their united front aims to prevent future tragedies by holding institutions accountable and demanding transparent, effective interventions.
