Public enquiry into Nottingham stabbings may be needed, says ex-Justice Secretary

A public enquiry may be needed into the stabbings carried out by Valdo Calocane, if an investigation by NHS England proves to be unsatisfactory, according to former Justice Secretary Sir Robert Buckland.

He told GB News: “The NHS have to order an independent enquiry, that’s been done. They’ve got to look at all the whys and wherefores of what happened with this man.

“If it appears that we’re not getting sufficient depth and breadth to this, then I think having an enquiry with all the powers that that brings would be extremely advantageous.

“What I don’t want is a long-winded inquiry that will take years, by which time other people will have been put at risk and maybe other lives have been lost.”

In a discussion with Camilla Tominey, he continued: “We know what the problems are here, laws have been passed on this.

“This is all about making sure on the ground, we implement the highest degree of monitoring in order to ensure the safety of the public.”

He added: “I don’t think we should go back to those days when we had those appalling institutions where we just lock people away and forget about them and not just mental health patients, but autistic people and disabled people, it’s a horrific way to treat individuals. I campaign on that a lot.

“If we move into a more community-based approach, which can be really good for many, many people who are on the spectrum, on that scale of mental health, we have to remember there will be a small but significant number who will continue to pose a danger.

“That’s why monitoring is so important. Just discharging into the community isn’t good enough.”