A public inquiry begins on Tuesday into the events surrounding the crimes of child serial killer nurse Lucy Letby.
Chaired by Lady Justice Thirlwall, the investigation at Liverpool Town Hall will examine how Letby was able to attack babies on the Countess and Chester Hospital’s neo-natal unit in 2015 and 2016, and how its bosses dealt with concerns from her colleagues.
Letby, 34, from Hereford, is serving 15 whole-life orders after she was convicted of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others, with two attempts on one of her victims.
The inquiry will look at the experiences of the parents of the victims, the conduct of hospital staff and wider issues in the NHS including the culture within hospitals and how it affects the safety of newborns.
On Monday, Letby’s newly-appointed barrister said anger from families over speculation on the killer’s convictions will need to be “pointed in a different direction” if she is found innocent.
Mark McDonald is filing a submission to the Criminal Cases Review Commission in a fresh attempt to appeal Letby’s convictions.
Key points
- Families full of hope ahead of inquiry
- Thirlwall Inquiry: When is it it, what will it look at?
- Letby barrister says anger will need to be redirected if she is found innocent
- What does Letby’s new barrister’s case rest on?
Scope of Lucy Letby inquiry
08:01
Andre Langlois
The scope of the inquiry into the circumstances around Letby’s crimes will be wide. The three general areas to be covered in the inquiry are:
- The experiences of the parents of the victims.
- The conduct of staff the Countess of Chester and how Letby was able repeatedly to kill and harm babies. Despite mounting concerns, she was not removed from the unit until after the deaths of two triplet boys and the suspected collapse of another baby boy on three successive days in June 2016. Police were not called in until the following year.
- The wider NHS relationships between the groups of professionals, the culture within NHS hospitals and how these affect the safety of newborns in neonatal units.
Speculation on Letby guilt ‘devastating’ for families, says solicitor
06:00
Alex Ross
Speculation on the guilt of Lucy Letby and possible future appeals has been “upsetting” for the families of victims, according to a solicitor representing them.
In recent days, there has been speculation the convicted child killer may launch a fresh appeal with a new legal team, with her new barrister claiming there is “absolutely” a strong case Letby is innocent.
Tamlin Bolton, who represents the families of six victims, described the speculation as “upsetting” for all of her clients.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Monday, the solicitor said: “I can’t stress enough how upsetting that has been for all of the families that I represent.
“And they have thought about so many ways in which they can try to address that and deal with it and make sure they put their voice across. But of course they’re restricted by wanting to keep themselves confidential and private.
“So it’s a really difficult challenge for them to try and avoid social media, avoid the reporting about it.
“But when you have children that are now eight or nine years old, they are looking at TikTok, they’re looking at social media and there are people claiming that the harm that was caused to them or their sibling was not caused by somebody who’s been found guilty of those crimes by a jury and whose appeals have been exhausted, and the Court of Appeal have also said she remains guilty of these crimes.”
Letby’s barrister has meeting with experts as he prepares for appeal
04:10
Alex Ross
We’ve been running a few parts tonight from our interview with Mark McDonald, who is Lucy Letby’s newly-appointed barrister.
He said he had a meeting with 22 professionals with expertise in forensic pathology, statistics and anesthetics last Sunday.
Asked what they told him, he said: “That the science, the medical evidence that was presented to the jury by the prosecution was unreliable.”
How did Lucy Letby’s new solicitor get involved in the case?
02:00
Alex Ross
We spoke to Mark McDonald, Lucy Letby’s new barrister, on how he first got involved in the case as it emerged he was leading her fight for an appeal last week.
He said: “I have been involved in these types of cases for the past 15 years, because there are four nurses currently serving life imprisonment for harming patients.
“I represented Ben Geen [one of those convicted nurses] in both the Court of Appeal and and the CCRC, so I have been aware of these issues, so you might think to yourself ‘what has that got to do with Lucy Letby?”
“All four cases are very similar. All four cases mirror each other in the way they were presented to the jury. They present a statistical theory in relation to spikes in deaths and also a particular nurse being on duty.
“I have now statistical reports that say what is taking place, the assertions taking place are wrong.
“Secondly, they rely upon on technical expert evidence to look back in hindsight... let’s take Lucy Letby for example, everything was seen as a natural cause, every death was seen as natural, there were numerous post mortems and all came back as normal deaths, and years later an expert gets into a witness box and says ‘well, I think this is how that person died, there is no direct evidence against her in relation of harming the patients’.
“Same in Ben Geen, and the same in others, and I’m really concerned by the nature of the admissibility of that type of evidence put forward before a jury.
“So as soon as Lucy was charged, I pretty much knew what was going to happen.... I now have numerous medical experts that have looked at evidence put before the jury and raise serious problems with the science used and the realiability of the science used for the jury”
Who is Mark McDonald, Lucy Letby’s new barrister
Tuesday 10 September 2024 00:10
Alex Ross
Mark McDonald was announced as Lucy Letby’s new barrister last week.
The barrister has previously been involved in several high-profile appeals, including that of Ben Geen, another nurse jailed for life in 2006 for murdering two of his patients and poisoning 15 others.
Geen’s application to appeal his convictions was denied by the Court of Appeal in 2009 and two further applications to the CCRC, in 2013 and 2015, also refused.
On his profile page at Furnival Chambers, Mr McDonald is described as having “a formidable reputation within criminal law”.
The barrister set up a UK-based group, Amicus, which became a leading charity working on the death penalty in the USA.
He’s also worked in Palestine with the Bar Human Rights Committee and set up the Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East.
How we found out about the latest attempt for an appeal - and what’s happening now
Monday 9 September 2024 22:10
Alex Ross
It was announced last week that Lucy Letby has a new barrister, Mark McDonald, and that he planned to make an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) for Letby’s case to be sent back to the Court of Appeal.
He told the BBC: “I knew almost from the start, following this trial, that there is a strong case that she is innocent The fact is juries get it wrong. And yes, so do the Court of Appeal, history teaches us that.”
Speaking to The Independent tonight, he said Letby’s conviction relied on a range of scientific evidence which he said was now being questioned by senior medical professionals.
Last Sunday, he met up with a number of figures to begin to go over the evidence. Today, he’s been preparing expert reports which he will use as part of his submission to the CCRC.
“If I am right, the convictions are unsafe, then this would be the biggest miscarriage of justice in the history the UK”
The scope of the inquiry - and why some want it changed
Monday 9 September 2024 20:18
Alex Ross
The terms of reference for tomorrow’s inquiry are partly based on Lucy Letby’s convictions, with an examination to be done on what was happening at the time of the murders, including the conduct of staff.
We’ve spoken to Letby’s newly-appointed barrister, Mark McDonald, who has said the scope needs to be wider.
Mr McDonald is currently preparing expert documents for an application to the Crimininal Cases Review Commission in a fresh attempt to appeal the killer’s convictions.
He told us: “I would like the terms of reference [for the inquiry] to be extended to look at the issues that we are raising because if we are right, if no crimes actually been committed and the conviction is unsafe, that means that there maybe more systemic problems on the unit that are not going to be investigated because they aren’t covered by the terms of reference.”
Mr McDonald said the terms of reference for the inquiry were “pretty much she has been found guilty, how is allowed to get away with this”.
Lady Thirlwall’s message on families - and what she wants to achieve for them
Monday 9 September 2024 18:18
Alex Ross
“The parents of the babies who were murdered or suffered injuries, some life long, live with the consequences every day.
“On top of their grievous loss they endured years of uncertainty about what had caused death or injury.
“And for some, uncertainty remains. All have made it plain to me that they want to do all they can to make sure that no one else suffers as they do. I’ve already mentioned one of the suggestions they have made as to how this may be achieved.
“With the help of the inquiry team and all those who will contribute to the inquiry I will do all I can to make sure that no one else suffers as they have. It is unconscionable that this situation would ever occur again.”
Look back to the opening statement of the inquiry starting tomorrow
Monday 9 September 2024 17:12
Alex Ross
Back in November last year, inquiry chair Lady Justice Thirlwall issued an opening statement in which she set out the objectives of the inquiry. She said: “Our work is in three parts.
“Part A is about the experience at the hospital, and elsewhere, of the parents of the babies named on the indictment,
“Part B considers the conduct of people working at the hospital and how Letby was able repeatedly to kill and harm babies on the neonatal unit,
“Part C will look at the wider NHS, examining relationships between the various groups of professionals, the culture within our hospitals and how these affect the safety of newborns in neonatal units.”
Why a group of doctors wanted this week’s inquiry postponed?
Monday 9 September 2024 15:26
Alex Ross
Last month, a group of 24 senior doctors wrote to the health secretary Wes Streeting, calling for the inquiry this week to postponed.
The letter said the natural assumption that the nurse was a murderer could mean important lessons were missed.
“Possible negligent deaths that were presumed to be murders could result in an incomplete investigation of the management response to the crisis,” the letter said.
In particular, concerns were raised over statistics on the number of deaths at the hospital’s neonatal unit, with it claimed that there were six deaths on the unit in the same period when Letby was not present that were not revealed to the jury.
Warwick University’s Prof Jane Hutton told the BBC the way the figures were presented was not in a way it should be.
A spokesperson for the Thirlwall Inquiry said it would go ahead as planned.
Important people have all the information before giving opinion - family solicitor
Monday 9 September 2024 15:11
Alex Ross
Tamlin Bolton, who represents the families of six victims, has described the speculation as “upsetting” for all of her clients.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday, the solicitor said: “The families are devastated by the reporting at the moment. It is the families that are going through this, continuing to go through this in its enormity and sincerity.
“They are the ones still raising children now, who will have to explain to them one day exactly what happened to them as children or their siblings on that unit … If you are going to give an expert opinion on something and hold yourself out as an expert, it’s really important that you have all of the information before you make that declaration or you give that opinion.
“Because anything else outside of that is simply speculation and it would be unfortunate to fall prey to the same trap that you are being critical of when you reference the jury’s decision and the decision of the Court of Appeal.”
Inquiry taking place on Tuesday - who is on the team?
Monday 9 September 2024 14:23
Alex Ross
Chair Lady Justice Thirlwall
Lady Justice Thirlwall is a senior Court of Appeal judge. On 4 September 2023 she was appointed to chair the inquiry into the events at the Countess of Chester hospital by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.
She was the Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales from December 2019 and had significant responsibility for the response of the judiciary to the Covid pandemic.
Counsel to the Inquiry - Rachel Langdale KC
Rachel Langdale KC is Head of Chambers at 7BR, where she specialises in undertaking Children law cases (public, private and international), Judicial Review and Public Inquiry work. She was appointed as a Queen’s Counsel in 2009, a Bencher of the Middle Temple in 2011 and was a member of the Bar Council Ethics Committee for many years, including chairing that Committee between 2017-2020.
Solicitor to the Inquiry - Tim Suter
Tim Suter is a partner at Fieldfisher LLP. He has extensive experience of advising on independent inquiries, investigations and inquests. Tim recently acted as the solicitor to Manchester Arena Inquiry. He has also previously acted as solicitor to the Hillsborough Inquests and Birmingham 1974 pub bombings Inquests and as deputy solicitor to the inquests into the London Bombings of 7 July 2005 and the public inquiry into the death of the Russian dissident, Alexander Litvinenko.
‘Serial killers often hide in plain sight'
Monday 9 September 2024 13:03
Alex Ross
More from parents of babies attacked by Letby who have voiced their anger over the speculation growing over the killer’s convictions.
One couple told the Sunday Times: “It is infuriating to hear some people say, ‘I just have a feeling she hasn’t done anything.’ Serial killers often hide in plain sight — that’s how they manage to go undetected. They blend in and manipulate those around them. It is deeply disrespectful to the prosecution, defence, judge, and jury — who dedicated nearly a year of their lives to fulfilling their public duty with care and diligence. They took the necessary time to carefully consider all the evidence before reaching their verdicts.
“We have seen all the comments circulating on social media and in the mainstream news, and we find them both hurtful and distasteful.”
‘This is why I think Lucy Letby is guilty – and you should too’
Monday 9 September 2024 12:30
Alex Ross
As Lucy Letby’s new legal team prepares to launch a fresh appeal over the killer’s convictions, we hear from a person who reported on the harrowing evidence in the first trial.
Nigel Bunyan heard from parents, doctors and nurses impacted by the suffering inflicted by Letby.
Here’s what he said:
Police investigating alleged attack on medical witness at Letby trial
Monday 9 September 2024 12:08
Alex Ross
As the campaign to overturn Lucy Letby’s convictions grows, unsavoury focus has turned on some of those who gave evidence against her.
A medical witness who gave evidence for the prosecution was allegedly attacked by a member of the public with “pro-Lucy Letby beliefs”, the Sunday Times reported at the weekend.
Cheshire Police has since confirmed it is investigating.
A spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we are aware of an assault involving one of the witnesses from the Lucy Letby case and an investigation into the incident is underway.”
The publication also reported on another medical witness who had been targeted on social media by those doubting Letby’s guilt. They said they were also considering referring the matter to police.
Is Lucy Letby innocent?
Monday 9 September 2024 11:30
Alex Ross
As Sir David Davis adds to the chorus of voices raising concerns about the conviction of ‘killer nurse’ Lucy Letby, former commissioner at the Criminal Cases Review Commission, David James Smith, wrote a piece for us on how seriously they should be taken:
‘Still gaps’ in understanding of what happened at hospital - families
Monday 9 September 2024 11:08
Alex Ross
A solicitor representing the families of six victims who died at the Countess of Chester Hospital said her clients feel there are “still gaps” in their understanding of what happened.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Tamlin Bolton said: “The duty of candour between the hospital and the parents is one of the key issues of the (Lucy Letby) inquiry. How they were told about what had happened to their children, when they were told and when they should have been informed.
“For a number of the parents, they weren’t even aware that their children had suffered any kind of collapses or incidents on that unit until they were contacted by the police.
“So it’s really important that that’s made clear to them and they can see the full picture, the full story of what happened, particularly given what we’d heard in the press following the criminal trial about the consultants’ efforts to try and raise their concerns about Letby.”
The fresh questions being asked
Monday 9 September 2024 11:02
Alex Ross
Ahead of a Thirlwall Inquiry into the baby deaths, being launched on Tuesday, statisticians, armchair detectives, politicians and criminal experts are among those demanding a fresh look at the evidence that convicted Letby to 15-whole life orders.
Here we cover the questions, including the confession, statistics and the cause of deaths:
‘This whole traumatic experience made us question humanity’ - family
Monday 9 September 2024 10:30
Alex Ross
Growing speculation and online conspiracy theories have caused upset for the families of Lucy Letby’s victims.
Speaking to The Sunday Times, the parents of two babies have spoken of their dismay.
The couple went to the eight-month trial in 2023 wheich saw Letby convicted of murdering seven babies.
They said: “Our family is deeply shocked by the ongoing speculation surrounding what is being referred to as a miscarriage of justice.
“Certain pieces of evidence being discussed in the media are grossly out of context and misrepresented. Misinformation is being circulated about what transpired in court. Having attended the trial ourselves, we are fully aware of what was said.”
They also question how people can support the killer despite not having a full understanding of all the evidence shared in court.
“This whole traumatic experience made us question humanity,” they said.
Speculation over Letby’s case is ‘upsetting’ for families of victims
Monday 9 September 2024 09:30
Alex Ross
A solicitor representing the families of six victims of Lucy Letby said media speculation on Letby’s status and possible appeals in the future has been “upsetting” for all of her clients.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Tamlin Bolton said: “I can’t stress enough how upsetting that has been for all of the families that I represent.
“And they have thought about so many ways in which they can try to address that and deal with it and make sure they put their voice across. But of course they’re restricted by wanting to keep themselves confidential and private.
“So it’s a really difficult challenge for them to try and avoid social media, avoid the reporting about it.
“But when you have children that are now eight or nine years old, they are looking at TikTok, they’re looking at social media and there are people claiming that the harm that was caused to them or their sibling was not caused by somebody who’s been found guilty of those crimes by a jury and whose appeals have been exhausted, and the Court of Appeal have also said she remains guilty of these crimes.”
Families of six victims of Lucy Letby ‘full of hope but an awful lot of anxiety’ ahead of inquiry
Monday 9 September 2024 09:03
Alex Ross
A solicitor representing the families of six victims of Lucy Letby said her clients are “full of hope but an awful lot of anxiety” in the run-up to the inquiry into the Countess of Chester Hospital.
The inquiry, starting on Tuesday, will look at the events at the hospital and their implications following the trial.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Tamlin Bolton said: “It’s really difficult for a lot of them. They’re all dealing with this enormous ongoing tragedy.
“For those of them that have surviving children, they’re now eight or nine years old and there is going to come a point where they have to explain all of the events of almost the past 10 years to them.
“They’re full of a lot of hope but an awful lot of anxiety about what they’re now going to hear – that they still don’t fully know and they still don’t fully understand the picture of what happened to their babies at that time.”
Public inquiry begins on Tuesday
Monday 9 September 2024 08:58
Alex Ross
A public inquiry examining events at the Countess of Chester Hospital following Lucy Letby’s multiple convictions is due to begin on Tuesday in Liverpool.
The Thirlwall Inquiry will examine events at the hospital and their implications following the trial, and subsequent convictions, of Letby of murder and attempted murder of babies at the hospital.
It’s expected to last four weeks.
Lucy Letby’s convictions compared to that of the Guildford Four and Birmingham Six
Monday 9 September 2024 08:55
Alex Ross
Lucy Letby’s new barrister said he will be asking the Criminal Cases Review Commission for Letby’s case to be sent back to the Court of Appeal “on fresh evidence” but said the process “might take a long time”.
Letby’s trial ran for 10 months from October 2022 to August 2023, with a retrial ordered after a jury was unable to reach a verdict on one count of attempted murder of a baby girl.
She is serving 15 whole-life orders after being convicted of the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of seven others, with two attempts on one child, when she worked on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016.
Mr McDonald compared Letby’s conviction to that of the Guildford Four and Birmingham Six – two groups of people wrongly accused of carrying out IRA pub bombings in the 1970s whose convictions were later quashed.
The Guilford Four saw a group of people wrongly convicted for pub bombings in 1974. The Birmingham Six were six men who spent 16 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of pub bombings, also in 1974.
“These were some of the biggest miscarriages of justice in UK history, and yet they were found to be innocent,” Mr McDonald said.
The barrister added that he had so far seen “quite a lot of evidence that there are some real concerns” over Letby’s convictions.
What does Mr McDonald’s case rest on?
Monday 9 September 2024 08:51
Alex Ross
In recent weeks there have been a growing number of theories put forward over Lucy Letby’s convictions.
When asked what his case rested on for a fresh appeal, Lucy Letby’s new barrister, Mark McDonald, told Channel 5 News, he was looking at statistics, such as the number of deaths at Countess of Chester Hospital, and new medical evidence.
He said: “We’re looking really at issues in relation to statistics. And I know that sounds probably quite bizarre to hear, ‘well, what statistics got to do with it?
“You may remember that there were some bold assertions made during the trial in relation to, for example, (that) there was a spike of deaths, she was always on duty, when in fact, when analysed by some of the leading statisticians in the country, they’re seeing flaws in those assertions made by the prosecution to such a fundamental extent we believe it undermines the conviction.”
And on medical evidence, he continued: “We’re looking at neonatology for a start.
“We’re looking at the whole idea in relation to insulin, the testing of insulin, whether or not that testing was reliable, whether or not that the assertion that there was insulin present is accurate.”
What has Lucy Letby’s new barrister said
Monday 9 September 2024 08:48
Alex Ross
Lucy Letby’s new barrister, Mark McDonald, has said new medical evidence and expert opinion revealed “flaws” which undermined the prosecution of the former nurse, who was found guilty in two trials.
He is prepearing to file a submission to the Criminal Cases Review Commission in a fresh attempt to appeal Letby’s convictions.
On Friday, he told Channel 5 News: “You know, I’ve been so encouraged by the amount of people that have come forward: experts in neonatology, anaesthetists, pathology, statistics; that have come forward and have identified flaws in the trial that now want to give evidence for her, and we’ll want to draft reports to put in to the CCRC to assist.”
He has also reacted to upset voiced by the families.
Speaking to Times Radio, he said families had a right to be angry.
But added: “Of course they do. And upset. And if the defence team are correct and no crime was actually committed here, then their anger needs to be pointed in a different direction.”