Nottingham Incident

Lord Coaker 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.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Sharpe of Epsom) (Con)]

My Lords, first, I express my deepest sympathy for the families of Grace O’Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber and Ian Coates. Our thoughts and prayers are with them, their families and friends and all those affected. I also express my sympathy to the three others who were injured, one of whom I believe remains in critical condition, and obviously I wish them all a very speedy and complete recovery.

I acknowledge the close connections of the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, with the city of Nottingham and the fact that he is actively involved with Nottingham University. I ask him to personally convey the thoughts and sympathies of the whole House and the Government Front Bench on this. I took his points very much to heart, and what he said about Nottingham was very powerful, but of course it goes beyond Nottingham: it unites all of us, not just one city, notwithstanding the fact that I thoroughly endorse the sentiments behind Nottingham Together.

The noble Lord asked me a number of questions, particularly around police resourcing for this investigation, and so on. He will know that I am unable to comment on ongoing operational matters. I note that the police have been granted an extra 36 hours to question the suspect following an application to magistrates, and the Home Secretary is of course being regularly updated by the police and other agencies on the ground. That really is as much as I can say about the ongoing investigation, as I am sure he will appreciate, and I say to the noble Baroness, Lady Harris, that I am afraid I cannot speculate as to the nature of the suspect.

The noble Lord also asked me about the victims and the victim support that is available to the families. The families of all the victims are being supported by specially trained officers. Perhaps I could digress from my brief for one moment to say that I watched the fathers of the two deceased 19 year-olds speak, and I do not know how they did it. I commend their bravery. The university is supporting the students’ families and friends as well as staff and the student body. It is working closely with the authorities on the ongoing investigation into the incident.

The Department for Education remains in regular contact with all the various education settings in Nottingham that have been directly impacted by this horrific attack. It has offered its full and ongoing support. Immediate help and support is vital in ensuring that the community can begin to cope and recover. We thank the Nottinghamshire Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, as well as Nottinghamshire Victim Care and the local community for their calm and proactive response in the wake of the incident.

To go further on the noble Lord’s points, I say that Nottinghamshire Victim Care is currently offering support to anyone who has been negatively impacted by this incident. In addition, the Ministry of Justice-funded Homicide Service was formally stood up to offer its major criminal incident support. From 1 June, the Homicide Service was expanded to include support for those bereaved. Obviously, as the investigation is ongoing, it is entirely possible that other agencies may become involved but, again, I cannot speculate beyond that.

Finally, I join the noble Lord in paying tribute to the police and other emergency services. As far as I understand, it was a very rapid response, and obviously they are doing their very best to bring this investigation to a successful conclusion. I would again like to align myself with all the remarks that have been made.

[Lord Coaker (Lab)]

I very warmly thank the Minister for his remarks.