Nottingham attack victim's mother blasts police force for being 'too worried about getting called racist to catch dangerous criminals'

"I believe and this is my opinion that the Nottinghamshire Police force actively chose not to tell us that information," she stated.

Mrs Webber said the family were instead presented with a misleading picture of the killer as a drifter who wandered between locations.

She said "That was actually repeated right up until we were finally told in our meeting on December 7 that he'd actually had premises in Nottingham and he'd been evicted on November 11."

Dr Sanjoy Kumar, father of 19-year-old victim Grace O'Malley-Kumar, expressed outrage at the inquiry over what he viewed as a fundamental failure in forensic procedure.

The GP and forensic medical examiner with the Metropolitan Police said he found it "quite disgusting" that both his daughter and Barnaby Webber were subjected to drug and alcohol testing while their killer underwent no such examination.

He told the enquiry: "Our children were tested, but the culprit wasn't."

Dr Kumar questioned why investigators failed to obtain a hair sample from Calocane during his time in custody, noting that such testing would not have required the killer's consent.

"It may have proved nothing but it may have proved everything," he said, emphasising that basic forensic evidence gathering should be standard practice for any detective.

The bereaved families described their profound shock when prosecutors announced they would accept Calocane's guilty plea to manslaughter rather than pursue murder charges.

Mrs Webber told the inquiry she had been assured by former chief constable Kate Meynell that the force had "got [Calocane] and he'll go down" for murder.

She said: "We had been very much led to believe the murderer of our child was going to be done for murder and, at the 11th hour, that was turned into a manslaughter plea," she said.

When the families learned of the decision, Mrs Webber recalled witnessing Dr Kumar's reaction: "I saw Sanjoy's face the reaction and the, I suppose, unfolding horror."

David Webber said the families were given no opportunity to discuss what he called a "complete U-turn" on the charges.

Dr Kumar delivered a scathing assessment of the Independent Office for Police Conduct, branding the watchdog "unprofessional and nothing but a joke."

Dr Kumar recounted an extraordinary incident during a meeting with the organisation that left him bewildered.

"We had a meeting and the decision-maker held a prayer in the room when we walked in. It was the most absurd thing I have ever seen in my life," he told the inquiry.

The father said the family had approached the IOPC with genuine faith in its ability to provide answers, only to be left dismayed.

"We were asking serious questions and the decision-maker said 'let's say a prayer'. It was absurd," Dr Kumar added, concluding that those who claim the body is not fit for purpose are correct.

The Webber family also expressed fury over the conduct of individual officers following the attacks. Mrs Webber revealed that police personnel had accessed footage from the incident and exchanged WhatsApp messages discussing her son's injuries.

She described one of the messages as "disgusting and grotesque."

David Webber told the inquiry that his son's right to privacy appeared to have been completely disregarded by those who should have protected it.

"It does seem to me that, again, in this case, my son, who was the victim here, his privacy was not taken into consideration," he said.

The couple stated they will "never forgive" the police for this breach of trust.

The inquiry continues.