Killer nurse Lucy Letby is “completely focussed on proving her innocence” ahead of the publication of a major report into her crimes, her lawyer has said.
Lady Justice Thirlwall’s report from an inquiry into the conditions that allowed the murders and attempted murders to take place is set to be published in Liverpool on Tuesday afternoon.
Letby, 36, is serving 15 whole-life orders after she was convicted at Manchester Crown Court of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others.
The Thirlwall Inquiry examined events at the Countess of Chester Hospital that led to the former neonatal nurse’s convictions for the crimes between June 2015 and June 2016.
The former nurse has twice been denied permission to appeal against her convictions in 2024, although the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which examines potential miscarriages of justice, is considering evidence presented on her behalf by an international panel of medics.
Mark McDonald, Lucy Letby's lawyer who has applied to the CCRC for her convictions to be reviewed, had asked for the inquiry to be paused for the outcome of the CCRC's decision. Asked how Letby is feeling right now, he said: "Lucy is completely focussed on proving her innocence."
Key Points
- What is the Thirlwall Inquiry?
- Experts quit Letby's defence team over 'scientific credibility' concerns
- 'Inquiry has operated on wrong premise if Letby is innocent', says defence lawyer
- Harmed families say Thirlwall recommendations must be implemented
- Thirwall Inquiry report - what does it mean for Letby's defence
Lucy Letby’s lawyer insists case has not been undermined after experts quit
11:30 , Nicole Wootton-CaneLucy Letby’s lawyer has insisted her case has not been undermined after two experts quit her defence team, saying some of its arguments have “unresolvable problems”.
The former nurse, who maintains her innocence, is serving 15 whole-life terms for the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of seven others while working on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester hospital.
Engineering expert Helen Shannon and bioengineering professor Geoff Chase withdrew from the team on Monday.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, is considering evidence presented on her behalf by an international panel of medics.
The group argued the babies died or collapsed as a result of poor medical care and natural causes.
Asked by BBC Newsnight whether their withdrawal undermined Letby’s case, lawyer Mark McDonald said he “fundamentally” disagreed.
“They don’t know what I put into the CCRC because I haven’t told them. So how on earth could they make that conclusion?” he said. “But really, it comes back to this. Both sets of experts say that Lucy Letby is innocent.
“One set of experts remains in the CCRC. One set of experts have withdrawn. But they both are of the same position that whatever happened at the trial, what took place at the trial, was wrong, that the jury was misled.”
Harmed families say Thirlwall recommendations must be implemented
11:20 , Nicole Wootton-CaneThe Independent’s health editor Rebecca Thomas reports:
Lawyers representing several families say it’s vital the recommendations are implemented by the government.
Tamlin Bolton, the Irwin Mitchell lawyer representing several families, said: “While no system can guarantee the prevention of criminal acts by a determined individual, patients, families and clinicians are entitled to expect that their concerns will be listened to and that those concerns will be investigated properly and acted upon.
“The key questions are whether the systems, culture and governance within our NHS were sufficiently robust to identify risks and respond to them appropriately and where, in this instance, those systems have failed.
“With the families, we will consider Lady Justice Thirlwall's findings carefully, but whatever the detail of the report, it is vital that lessons are learned and any recommendations are implemented by the UK government so that confidence in patient safety is strengthened.”
Thirwall Inquiry report - what does it mean for Letby's defence
11:10 , Nicole Wootton-CaneThe Independent’s senior reporter Alex Ross writes:
At the outset of her inquiry, Lady Justice Thirwall made clear that its aim was not to review Lucy Letby's conviction, but to look at the conduct of hospital management and the effectiveness of governance to keep babies safe.
It was held on the basis of Letby being guilty of the seven murders and seven attempted murders.
The findings, published today, will likely be critical of some of the actions of senior bosses, most of whom no longer working at the Countess of Chester hospital.
Letby's lawyer Mark McDonald will be taking note of the report, but his main focus remains on the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which is looking at Letby's convictions following an application the case gets referred back to the appeal courts.
Dame Vera Baird, who is chair of the CCRC, has said she will "be looking at the [Thirwall] report with interest to assess whether it has any bearing on our review of the case.”
Meanwhile, Mr McDonald has said Letby is completely focussed on proving her innocence as she and her team wait on the CCRC's decision. No date has yet been signalled when this will come.
Whole-life orders: The prisoners who will die in jail
10:50 , Nicole Wootton-CaneSerial child killer Lucy Letby will die in jail after she was handed 15 whole life orders for the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of seven others.
A whole life order means she will not be eligible for release unless there are exceptional compassionate grounds to warrant it.
You can read more about who else has been handed a whole life order below:
Whole-life orders: The prisoners who will die in jail
Watch: Lucy Letby: Timeline of nurse who murdered seven babies
10:30 , Nicole Wootton-CaneWhat did the Thirlwall Inquiry examine?
10:10 , Nicole Wootton-CaneThe Thirlwall Inquiry report will be published at 12:30pm on Tuesday, examining how killer nurse Lucy Letby was able to murder seven babies and attempt to murder seven others.
The inquiry set out its “terms of reference”, describing the scope of the inquiry. These include:
• The experiences of the Countess of Chester Hospital and other relevant NHS services, and of all the parents of the babies named in the indictment
• The conduct of those working at the Countess of Chester Hospital, including the board, managers, doctors, nurses and midwives with regard to the actions of Letby
• Whether suspicions should have been raised earlier, whether Letby should have been suspended earlier and whether the police and other external bodies should have been informed sooner of suspicions about her
• The responses to concerns raised about Letby from those with management responsibilities within the trust
• Whether the trust’s culture, management and governance structures and processes contributed to the failure to protect babies from Letby
• The effectiveness of NHS management and governance structures and processes, external scrutiny and professional regulation in keeping babies in hospital safe and well looked after, whether changes are necessary and, if so, what they should be, including how accountability of senior managers should be strengthened
Letby 'completely focussed on proving her innocence', her lawyer tells The Independent
09:48 , Nicole Wootton-CaneThe Independent’s senior reporter Alex Ross writes:
As we await the publication of the Thirwall Inquiry report at 12.30pm, we have spoken to one of those who will be paying close interest to its findings.
Mark McDonald, Lucy Letby's lawyer who has applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) for her convictions to be reviewed, had asked for the inquiry to be paused for the outcome of the CCRC's decision.
Asked what the public can take from today's report, he told The Independent: "I have not had sight of the report, but have followed the Inquiry and can be clear it will be very critical of the hospital and managers.
"But if the whole inquiry operates on the wrong premise [of Letby's guilt] then everything that follows it in error and undermined. The government must not implement any recommendation until the Court of Appeal have seen and heard the new evidence. It’s a shame the Inquiry did not engage with any of the evidence of innocence gathered in the last two years."
Asked how Letby is feeling right now, he said: "Lucy is completely focussed on proving her innocence."
Recap: Hospital boss arrested for perverting course of justice in Lucy Letby baby deaths probe
09:30 , Nicole Wootton-CaneDetectives have arrested a senior hospital boss on suspicion of perverting the course of justice in connection with the inquiry into killer nurse Lucy Letby.
Cheshire Constabulary said a search warrant was carried out at a property in April.
A person was arrested and later bailed, pending further inquiries.
In July 2025, three members of the leadership team at the hospital, who occupied senior positions between 2015 and 2016, were arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
It is understood that the suspect arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice was one of the three arrested last year.
You can read more below:
Suspect arrested for perverting course of justice in Lucy Letby baby deaths probe
What is a whole life order - and why is Letby serving 15?
09:10 , Nicole Wootton-CaneLucy Letby was sentenced to 14 whole life orders after she was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others.
She was then handed a 15th whole life order after she was found guilty of trying to kill a premature baby girl after a retrial.
A whole life order is the most severe prison term that can be given, and means she will never be considered for release unless there are exceptional compassionate grounds to warrant it.
When will the Thirlwall Inquiry report be published?
08:50 , Nicole Wootton-CaneThe Thirlwall Inquiry is due to be published at 12:30pm on Tuesday.
It will examine how Letby was able to repeatedly kill and harm babies on a hospital neonatal unit in Chester between June 2015 and June 2016.
Watch: Lucy Letby: Who is she and why was she convicted of murder?
08:30 , Nicole Wootton-Cane'Inquiry has operated on wrong premise if Letby is innocent', says defence lawyer
08:07 , Harriette BoucherLucy Letby’s defence lawyer has said that the public inquiry being published today has been operating “on the wrong premise” if she is innocent.
Mark McDonald submitted nearly 30 expert reports to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which he told BBC “undermine the whole safety of the convictions”.
The chairwoman of the CCRC has told the broadcaster that the organisation would be paying close attention to the report.
Letby has already been denied permission to appeal against her convictions on two occasions.
"If she is innocent, as I believe, as 30-odd experts believe, then everything that has gone before the inquiry and every recommendation has operated on the wrong premise,” Mr McDonald said.
Experts quit Letby's defence team over 'scientific credibility' concerns
07:49 , Harriette BoucherTwo experts on Lucy Letby’s defence team have quit after claiming there were concerns about the “scientific credibility” of some of the evidence.
Professor Geoff Chase, from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, and chemical engineer Helen Shannon, withdrew on Monday.
The experts had previously produced a 100-page report last year casting doubt on her convictions for poisoning two babies with insulin.
They said they still maintained it was “very unlikely” that two babies were poisoned, but felt some of the arguments being put forward on her behalf were “inconsistent with the available evidence, science and established physiology”.
Letby’s defence law Mark McDonald told Newsnight he was “sad that they've gone” but insisted those experts still believed “Lucy Letby is innocent”.
Doctor accused of being Lucy Letby ‘crush’ named for first time
07:43 , Harriette Boucher
Doctor accused of being Lucy Letby ‘crush’ named for first time
What is the Thirlwall Inquiry?
07:36 , Harriette BoucherThe Thirlwall Inquiry was launched in 2023 following Lucy Letby’s multiple convictions for murder and attempted murder of infants.
It was set up to examine events at the Countess of Chester Hospital and their implications following the trial, and subsequent convictions, of former neonatal nurse Lucy Letby of murder and attempted murder of babies at the hospital.
The inquiry was not looking at whether Letby was guilty, but how concerns about the nurse from other staff were handled and whether her actions could have been prevented.
One of the country’s most senior judges, Lady Justice Thirlwall, heard evidence at Liverpool Town Hall from numerous witnesses between September 2024 and February 2025, including from the parents of Letby’s victims.
Lucy Letby public inquiry findings to be published
07:32 , Harriette BoucherThe findings from a public inquiry into how Lucy Letby was able to murder and harm babies is set to be published on Tuesday morning.
The Thirlwall Inquiry is due to look at what happened at Countess of Chester Hospital that led to the former neonatal nurse’s convictions for the crimes between June 2015 and June 2016.
Its key objectives were to seek answers for the victims’ families and ensure lessons are learned – some 25 years after another nurse, Beverley Allitt, committed similar crimes on a children’s ward in Grantham, Lincolnshire.
