Hospital bosses say Lucy Letby could be innocent – what happens next ...Middle East

A public inquiry into the crimes of Lucy Letby hangs on a knife-edge after her former hospital bosses dramatically admitted they believe her convictions for harming babies may be unjust.

The former neonatal nurse, 35, is serving 15 whole life orders in prison after being found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder a further seven between June 2015 and June 2016.

Letby has always maintained her innocence, but has had several attempts to appeal her convictions rejected by High Court judges.

A new legal team led by barrister Mark McDonald claims they have fresh evidence which demonstrates her convictions are unsafe and wants the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) to put her case back to the Court of Appeal.

Mr McDonald has lodged an application for the Thirlwall Inquiry – which is examining the circumstances of Letby’s offending – to be paused or suspended, arguing that her appeal is likely to succeed.

During proceedings on Tuesday, four former hospital bosses at the Countess of Chester – medical director Ian Harvey, director of nursing Alison Kelly, chief executive Tony Chambers and HR director Susan Hodkinson – made clear they support the application.

Their barrister Kate Blackwell KC argued there is a “real likelihood” Letby’s convictions could be overturned and that there are “alternative explanations” for the deaths and unexplained collapses of the babies.

Lady Justice Thirlwall continues to hear from all parties involved in the public inquiry for their opinion on the application and is likely to give a ruling on Wednesday.

Here, The i Paper looks at what happens next for Letby, and what the hospital bosses’ doubts could mean for her convictions.

The senior managers who have spoken out were all key figures at the Countess of Chester hospital at the time of Letby’s crimes. All have since left their jobs.

Lawyers for the families of the babies harmed by Letby are opposing the application to pause the inquiry and have suggested the managers are attempting to “avoid criticism” for their actions or inaction.

During his evidence, Mr Harvey admitted that there had been missed opportunities to stop Letby earlier and that he regretted not calling in police investigate sooner.

Mr Chambers denied pressuring whistleblowers – including consultants who were concerned about Letby – and threatening to ruin their careers.

Ms Kelly was accused of failing to escalate concerns to NSH England when she should have done, while Ms Hodkinson was accused of supporting a plan to have the consultants ‘managed out’ of the hospital and reported to the General Medical Council (GMC).

What they have called for and why?

Through their legal representative Kate Blackwell KC, the four former hospital bosses have asked Lady Justice Thirlwall to consider pausing her public inquiry which is about to conclude after hearing evidence for more than six months.

It has been suggested that Justice Thirlwall has the power to do so in circumstances where she believes it may be “unfair” on any of the parties concerned, or where it may lead to “unnecessary” costs to the public purse.

Alternatively, it has been argued that the Secretary of State for Health has the power to suspend the inquiry if it is “necessary to allow the completion of any investigation relating to any of the matters to which the inquiry relates.”

Ms Blackwell argued that the convictions of Letby were the “bedrock” of why the public inquiry was ordered in the first place.

However, she argued that the opinion put forward by the panel of experts convened by Letby’s new legal team raises serious questions about the safety of the verdicts.

She argued there is “increasing concern expressed by world-class experts that the prosecution case was based on medical misunderstanding and poor expert evidence, and other concerns raised that evidence was withheld from the jury, [we] are in real danger of dissolving that bedrock into a beach of shifting sands.”

The four hospital managers were not witnesses in either of Letby’s criminal trials and have issued little or no public comment since.

In fact, they described the public inquiry as “the first real opportunity to telltheir story”.

However, they did not use this opportunity to question Letby’s convictions, either in their opening statement or when they were called to give evidence as witnesses.

The managers were asked about their relationship with Letby during the long period she was under investigation, first by the hospital and then by police.

Ms Kelly accepted she should not have had a meeting with Letby after she had raised a grievance for being removed from her nursing duties.

Mr Chambers met with Letby and her parents and notes showed he told her he was “astounded” by her resilience and later said “don’t worry Lucy, we’ve got your back.”

The managers have denied orchestrating a cover up of Letby’s offending in order to protect their reputations and the reputation of the hospital.

In their statement published in September last year the four bosses expressed “their deepest sympathies to the families of the babies who were harmed so cruelly by Letby.”

What is the inquiry considering?

The Government ordered the public inquiry into the crimes of Letby and set out a set of strict terms of reference.

There are three broads areas that have been examined; the experiences of the parents of babies harmed by Letby, the culture of those working in the hospital, and the effectiveness of NHS management and other governing structures.

Dozens of witnesses have been called and statements taken including nurses, doctors and NHS managers.

Justice Thirlwall has said she hopes to publish a report by the end of 2025.

The inquiry is due to conclude public hearings this week as all parties give their closing submissions.

If Justice Thirlwall were to decide that she does have the power to pause it, and agrees to that request, it would likley mean delaying the publication of her final report until the conclusion of Letby’s potential appeal proceedings.

However, how long that could take to happen, if it would at all, is unclear.

Letby’s legal team claim the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) will move quickly to get her case back before the Court of Appeal, due to the weight of opinions they have gathered from a panel of 14 international experts.

Richard Baker KC, counsel for 11 families, described this claim as “fanciful” and said he believes Letby has a “mountain to climb” to convince either the CCRC or Court of Appeal to reconsider her case.

He cited the example of Ben Geen, a former nurse who was convicted of killing two patients and injuring 15 others while working at a hospital in Oxfordshire from 2003 to 2004.

He has been attempting to get the CCRC to put his case back before the Court of Appeal for more than ten years without success.

Could this impact Letby’s convictions?

The intervention of the senior managers will not have any impact on Letby’s convictions.

She has twice been convicted by juries following criminal trials. Only the Court of Appeal can overturn Letby’s convictions if they believe they are unsafe.

Such cases are extremely rare and almost always occur because of significant fresh evidence, such as DNA which suggests an alternative suspect.

None of the four former hospital bosses were witnesses in Letby’s prosecutions.

Lawyers for the families of babies who were harmed by Letby are opposing the application to pause proceedings.

Peter Skelton KC, appearing on behalf of babies A, B, I, L, M, N and Q pointed out that Letby was convicted following two trials during which she had access to the “finest criminal legal team” and “numerous medical experts”.

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Lucy Letby may be innocent, say nurse's former hospital bosses

He said that what Letby’s new legal team led by Mr McDonald has claimed to be new evidence with “apparent fanfare” has in fact turned out to be ” old and full of analytical holes.”

Richard Baker KC, appearing on behalf of eleven babies, said Letby’s new application to the CCRC is “fanciful” .

“Having being described as ‘real evidence’ produced by ‘world class experts’ it should be consdered whether this sort of application is likely to bring about a quick reversal,” he said.

“We would suggest based on what has already been rejected by the Court of Appeal that Letby will have a serious mountain to climb in convincing either the CCRC or the Court of Appeal this is fresh evidence.”

Mr Baker said the assertion by Letby’s legal team that the CCRC will put her case back to the Court Appeal “imminently” is “highly unlikely”.

He said the application is an attempt by Letby to “control the narrative” and on the part of the hospital’s senior managers to “avoid criticism.”

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