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?