LONDON — The inquiry into the deaths of infants at the Countess of Chester Hospital has faced requests for a suspension after a panel of medical experts found no indication of criminal conduct. Lawyers representing Lucy Letby, who was convicted of killing multiple babies, along with former hospital executives, have urged the inquiry be paused. This development was revealed by Justice Kathryn Thirlwall as she prepared to hear closing arguments in the investigation that started in September aiming to hold hospital staff and management accountable for the tragedies involving the babies at the northwestern England hospital.
Initially, the inquiry operated on the premise of Lucy Letby’s guilt. Justice Thirlwall had previously stated the court would not re-examine Letby’s convictions since they were upheld by an appellate court. Nonetheless, Letby’s legal team contends that should the convictions be overturned, the inquiry may reach incorrect conclusions, potentially rendering the £10 million ($13 million) spent thus far an imprudent use of public funds. “A public inquiry should aim to fearlessly uncover the true circumstances under which the babies died or became ill,” Letby’s lawyer, Louise Mortimer, wrote in a submission to Thirlwall.
Justice Thirlwall is anticipated to release a final report on the inquiry by autumn.
Lucy Letby, now 35, is serving several life terms, with no chance for release, after being found guilty of the murder of seven infants and the attempted murder of seven others while employed as a neonatal nurse between June 2015 and June 2016. During the trial, prosecutors claimed that she left minimal or no clues when harming infants. Allegedly, she injected air into their bloodstreams, administered substances via nasogastric tubes, and attempted poisoning with insulin. They noted that Letby was surprisingly the only nurse present in the neonatal ward when these children endured severe conditions or death.
However, a panel of 16 international authorities in pediatrics and neonatology reviewed the medical reports and determined that each case resulted either from natural causes or unsatisfactory medical practices, according to Dr. Shoo Lee, a retired Canadian neonatologist, who suggested these causes last month. The group further disputed the assumption of an unexplained rise in fatalities at the hospital, finding the evidence placing Letby on duty during those incidents as “incomplete, selective, and hence insignificant.”
Currently, Letby’s case is under investigation by the Criminal Case Review Commission, which evaluates potential miscarriages of justice and could potentially bring forth its findings to the Court of Appeal.
Following the release of the medical panel’s findings, past hospital executives — Tony Chambers, Ian Harvey, Alison Kelly, and Sue Hodkinson — requested the public inquiry be suspended.
The Crown Prosecution Service has continued to stand by two jury convictions and three appeal judges who discredited claims that the prosecution’s expert evidence was flawed.
Numerous other affiliated investigations are also ongoing. Cheshire police recently expanded their inquiry into corporate manslaughter at the hospital, now also looking into individuals for possible gross negligence manslaughter.
Reacting to this, Letby’s lawyer critiqued the decision, stressing that the new medical evidence presents a case that contradicts previous conclusions significantly. “The expert evidence now available entirely dismantles the prosecution’s case against Lucy Letby,” attorney Mark McDonald stated. “Police need to reassess if they’ve committed a major oversight.”
Additionally, there is a separate investigation examining other baby deaths and near-fatal incidents occurring at both the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women’s Hospital during Letby’s tenure between 2012 and 2016.
