Lucy Letby: inquiry into how former nurse was able to murder babies begins

An inquiry set up to examine how the former nurse Lucy Letby was able to murder babies at a neonatal unit over a two-year period is due to begin.

Letby, 34, was sentenced to 15 whole-life orders after she was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others across two separate trials.

The inquiry, starting on Tuesday and held at Liverpool town hall, will examine events at the Countess of Chester hospital’s neonatal unit where Letby was a nurse between 2015 and 2016.

Consultants repeatedly raised concerns that Letby may have been behind a series of unexplained deaths before she was arrested.

Tamlin Bolton, a senior associate solicitor at Switalskis, which is representing families of the victims, said: “The families that Switalskis represent have been through unimaginable heartbreak and distress. The facts and issues to be investigated in this inquiry are of deep concern to each individual family whose baby or babies were killed or attacked by Letby.

“Their babies were born, harmed and died in 2015 and 2016 and they have already endured many years of anguish, yet this inquiry will be the first time that they will hear evidence as to how Letby was allowed to harm as many as 18 babies before she was removed from the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester hospital.

“The facts and issues in this inquiry should also be of profound concern to every family who has used or will use NHS maternity, neonatal or paediatric services and to the wider public who need to have confidence in patient safety. For the families we represent, that confidence has been shattered.”

The inquiry is being led by Lady Justice Thirlwall, a senior court of appeal judge.

It will consider the experiences of the parents of Letby’s victims, look into the conduct of staff at the hospital and assess whether suspicions should have been raised earlier, whether Letby should have been suspended earlier and whether the police should have been brought in sooner.

The inquiry will examine wider NHS culture and consider the effectiveness of its management and governance structures. It is expected to last about four months, with a report to be released next year.

A group including some of the UK’s leading neonatal experts and professors of statistics is calling on the government to postpone or change the terms of a public inquiry over concerns about the safety of the convictions of the neonatal nurse.

In a private letter to ministers, seen by the Guardian, the 24 experts said they were concerned that the inquiry’s narrow terms could prevent lessons being learned about “possible negligent deaths that were presumed to be murders” in the neonatal ward of the Countess of Chester hospital.

At the weekend, legal representatives said reports calling into question Letby’s convictions had been upsetting for the families of the victims. Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Bolton said: “I can’t stress enough how upsetting that has been for all of the families that I represent.”

One of the medical witnesses in the case also reported being attacked by a member of the public who holds “pro-Letby beliefs”, it was reported in the Sunday Times.

Cheshire police 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 under way.”