A public inquiry into the Nottingham knife attacks has heard that notebooks belonging to killer Valdo Calocane, containing lists of explosives and disturbing references to terrorism, were dismissed by Nottinghamshire Police as having no evidential value and kept hidden for three years. The notebooks, found in a holdall at his former home shortly after the attack, included references to TATP, the explosive used in the Manchester Arena bombing, alongside "deeply misogynistic" writings and claims that he was God and could resurrect people. The inquiry's chair criticised the late disclosure, and the case highlights wider failures by police and mental health services that allowed Calocane to carry out the killings.

The notebooks only came to light in June after lawyers for the victims' families spotted a reference in a police statement, three years after Calocane fatally stabbed students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, and school caretaker Ian Coates, 65. Counsel for the inquiry, Rachel Langdale KC, said police had prioritised recovering another bag linked to the attack and left the holdall unchecked until September 2023, after which its contents were still not passed to the CPS or disclosed to the inquiry. Grace's father, Dr Sanjoy Kumar, said the family had been told Calocane may have been planning to bomb Nottingham venues, while newly emerged CCTV showing Calocane attacking a warehouse colleague was also disclosed late. The inquiry's chair, Her Honour Deborah Taylor, ordered that all remaining evidence be handed over by the end of the year.