Secret notebooks belonging to Valdo Calocane, the perpetrator of the Nottingham killings, have emerged to contain detailed references to explosives, including TATP, the same substance used in the Manchester Arena attack. These writings, discovered in a holdall at Calocane's residence shortly after he fatally stabbed three people, also included deeply misogynistic ramblings and references to past terrorist incidents, according to reports.
The notebooks were not disclosed by Nottinghamshire police for three years after Calocane killed students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, and school caretaker Ian Coates, 65. They only came to light in June when lawyers for the victims' families noticed a mention in a police statement. The documents were finally submitted to the public inquiry into the stabbings in June, three years after the attacks.
Her Honour Deborah Taylor, chair of the inquiry, expressed frustration at the late disclosure, stating that the evidence "ought to have been identified by core participants and disclosed earlier." The inquiry heard that a retired Detective Superintendent indicated that a detailed examination of the holdall was not prioritized in June 2023, as investigative efforts focused on another bag Calocane had with him on the night of the attacks. The holdall's contents remained unchecked until September 2023.
When the notebooks were eventually examined, they were not considered to be of evidential value to the homicide investigation and were not provided to the Crown Prosecution Service or psychiatric experts. Ms. Rachel Langdale KC, counsel for the inquiry, noted that it was an "oversight by Nottinghamshire police" that the material, which would clearly be of interest to the inquiry, was not disclosed. The inquiry also heard that Calocane had researched locations such as Rwanda, Manchester Arena, and Iraq, and had bookmarked venues like the Albert Hall conference centre and the Theatre Royal in Nottingham.
Calocane, who admitted manslaughter and attempted murder, was detained indefinitely in a high-security hospital in January 2024 after prosecutors accepted his not guilty pleas to murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility. This decision angered the victims' families, who had been informed he would be imprisoned. Tim Moloney KC, representing the bereaved families, questioned whether knowledge of Calocane's notes on explosives and his research into mass tragedies might have led to a different sentencing outcome.
The inquiry has previously highlighted significant failures by police, including not arresting Calocane despite him being wanted for previous offenses, and by mental health services who released him into the community. The inquiry also heard that footage of Calocane assaulting a warehouse colleague in February 2023 was not disclosed to the inquiry team until after evidence had concluded. This footage was uncovered by the inquiry itself, not by Nottinghamshire Police. Radd Seiger, a spokesman for the families, called the delayed disclosure of the notebooks "utterly disgraceful" and questioned why such relevant material was not shared earlier, emphasizing the importance of public inquiries in uncovering such information.