Nottingham Incident

Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill Excerpts

Thursday 15th June 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Coaker (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the Government for this Statement, and the comments made by the Prime Minister and many others in the other place yesterday. This is a particularly poignant Statement for me personally. Nottingham is my home. I was a Nottinghamshire teacher and an MP in Nottinghamshire for 22 years. I chair the Nottingham Crime & Drugs Partnership and do some important work with the University of Nottingham Rights Lab.

I know the whole House will join me in expressing our deep sorrow and shock at this truly awful attack. The families of the murdered students expressed their heartfelt, wonderful tribute to their lost loved ones yesterday at a vigil organised by the University of Nottingham. It was attended by a huge number of staff, students and friends. We join them in paying our tribute to Barnaby Webber and Grace Kumar, both promising students taken from us so cruelly at just 19. We have seen the tributes from their friends and the local and national sports clubs that they played for.

We also pay tribute to Ian Coates, a loved school caretaker, and associate ourselves with the lovely but sad comments of his family. We know how much Mr Coates was loved from a note left by a year 4 pupil, who wrote in the street:

“Dear Mr Coates … Thank you for rescuing me when I got trapped in the toilet … from Elsa in year 4. We will miss you”.


The investigation goes on, with a man under arrest, but will the Minister join me in again paying tribute to the ongoing work of the emergency services, particularly Nottinghamshire Police and its officers, as well as Nottingham City Council, its leader, Councillor David Mellen, officials, local MPs and many community organisations, including those from all faiths, which have provided much help and support to local communities? Will the Minister do all he can to ensure that Nottinghamshire Police, the city council and all those organisations will have the personnel, resources and support that they need to deal with the immediate challenges they face and those that may arise in future?

Can the Minister also reassure us of the support that will be made available for all the victims and their families, and anybody else who may need support in the light of this shocking horror and tragedy? Can he reassure us that, across government, Ministers will stay in touch with the police, local representatives, universities and community organisations, including faith organisations, to ensure that any such support is quickly and swiftly made available, while remembering that this includes support required by Nottingham University for its staff and students?

Tonight, the Lord Mayor of Nottingham, Councillor Carole McCulloch, the leader, Councillor David Mellen, and the vice-chancellor of Nottingham University, Professor Shearer West, will come together at a vigil at the Council House in Old Market Square. There will be a minute’s silence at 6 pm and a laying of flowers, and lights will be dimmed. It is a Nottingham Together vigil: a chance for the Nottingham community to take time to join together to share our grief and remember the people we have lost. It will be a chance for people to come together and show the world how Nottingham takes a stand against violence.

Will the Minister do all he can with government to help promote the fact that Nottinghamshire is a proud, diverse place, with wonderful universities such as Nottingham, which Barnaby and Grace attended, good schools, such as the one Mr Coates looked after, new industries, great sport and cultural activities, restaurants, a marvellous history and a remarkable public? That is the true Nottingham and we will not let evil define us, but for the moment we are united in our grief, in our mourning, and in our shared sadness as we wait for justice to be done. We can only hope that at such horrific times, as Mr Kumar said yesterday, incredibly bravely, as he stood with Mr Webber in front of students and the rest of the families and friends of hundreds of students, “Look after each other”. In our mourning, that is what Nottingham can and will do, and I am sure that is a message that will be heard by all of us.

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill) (Lab)]

My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Harris of Richmond, is taking part remotely. I invite her to speak.

[Baroness Harris of Richmond (LD) [V]]

My Lords, I, too, thank the Government for bringing this Statement from the other place yesterday, and I echo the strong remarks of the noble Lord, Lord Coaker. I am sure we all share in the grief of those who stood at the moving vigil yesterday for the two young people who were so tragically murdered in Nottingham. We on the Liberal Democrat Benches also extend our heartfelt sympathy and support to their grieving families and friends, as well as to the relatives of the school caretaker who was also brutally murdered, and to the people who were injured in the van attack. These were shocking incidents.

We understand that the suspect may have a history of mental health issues, so are the Government asking about this in connection with him, and when might we be told if this is the case? If so, I wonder what this might say about our mental health services in the country. Clearly, if this suspect was suffering from mental health issues, a considerable amount needs to be done now to make sure that this awful incident will never happen again.