LAST UPDATE | 4 Feb

THE CASE OF convicted child serial killer Lucy Letby is to be reviewed by a UK commission that investigates potential miscarriages of justice.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) received an application from her lawyers yesterday and said that work has already begun to assess the case, which involves “a significant volume of complicated evidence”.

In a press conference organised by her legal team this afternoon, a panel of international medical experts said they had concluded that bad medical care and natural causes led to the deaths of the babies said to have been harmed by Letby. 

The team of 14 neonatologists and paediatric specialists presented its “impartial evidence-based report” and said: “We did not find any murders.”

Opening the event, David Davis MP described her convictions as “one of the major injustices of modern times”.

Letby, 35, from Hereford, is serving 15 whole-life orders after she was convicted at Manchester Crown Court of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others, with two attempts on one of her victims, between June 2015 and June 2016.

The babies were attacked by various means while the defendant worked as a nurse on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

Letby’s trial heard that one such method was injecting air into the bloodstream which caused an air embolism that blocked the blood supply and led to sudden and unexpected collapses.

Panel chairman Dr Shoo Lee told reporters at the two-hour press conference in central London that they had detected a number of medical problems at the Countess of Chester Hospital at the relevant period.

These included, he said, poor skills in resuscitation and inserting breathing tubes, a lack of understanding of some basic procedures, along with misdiagnoses and unsafe delays in treatment of acutely poorly babies.

Evidence of inadequate numbers of appropriately-trained staff, work overload, lack of teamwork and caring for ill babies “probably beyond their expected ability of designated level of care” was also found, he said.

‘We did not find any murders’

Dr Lee said the Countess of Chester would have been shut down if it was in his homeland of Canada.

He said: “Death or injury of all the affected infants were due either to natural causes or to errors in medical care. There were serious problems related to medical care of patients at this hospital.

“In summary, ladies and gentlemen, we did not find any murders. In all cases, death or injury were due to natural causes or just bad medical care. In our opinion, the medical opinion, the medical evidence doesn’t support murder in any of these babies – just natural causes and bad medical care.

“I hope our findings bring comfort and closure to the families of the affected infants and our hearts and sympathies go out to them.”

Confirming the review, a CCRC spokesperson said: “We are aware that there has been a great deal of speculation and commentary surrounding Lucy Letby’s case, much of it from parties with only a partial view of the evidence.

“We ask that everyone remembers the families affected by events at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016.

“We have received a preliminary application in relation to Ms Letby’s case, and work has begun to assess the application. We anticipate further submissions being made to us.

“It is not for the CCRC to determine innocence or guilt in a case, that’s a matter for the courts.

“It is for the CCRC to find, investigate and if appropriate, refer potential miscarriages of justice to the appellate courts when new evidence or new argument means there is a real possibility that a conviction will not be upheld, or a sentence reduced.

“At this stage it is not possible to determine how long it will take to review this application. A significant volume of complicated evidence was presented to the court in Ms Letby’s trials.

“The CCRC is independent. We do not work for the government, courts, police, the prosecution or for anyone applying for a review of their case. This helps us investigate alleged miscarriages of justice impartially.”

‘Major injustice’ 

At today’s press conference, former Tory minister Davis described her convictions as “one of the major injustices of modern times”.

Dr Lee, who co-authored a 1989 academic paper on air embolism in babies, then presented the findings of a panel of 14 experts who said they had compiled an “impartial evidence-based report”.

He told the press conference that the panel’s thoughts were with the families of the babies who died.

“We understand their stress and their anguish, and our work is not meant to cause more distress,” he said.

“Rather, it is meant to give them comfort and assurance in knowing the truth about what really happened.

We know that they want to know the truth and that is why we are here to tell the truth.

“Should they have any queries or concerns, we’d be pleased to discuss them with them.”

Letby lost two bids last year to challenge her convictions at the Court of Appeal – in May for seven murders and seven attempted murders, and in October for the attempted murder of a baby girl which she was convicted of by a different jury at a retrial.

At the first of those appeals, a bid to admit fresh evidence from Dr Lee was rejected as three senior judges concluded there had been no prosecution expert evidence diagnosing air embolus solely on the basis of skin discolouration.

Dr Lee said he has recently updated his academic paper and found no cases of skin discolouration linked to air embolism by the venous system.

In December, Letby’s barrister Mark McDonald said – that separately from the CCRC application – he would also seek permission from the Court of Appeal to apply to reopen her case on the grounds that Dr Dewi Evans, the lead prosecution medical expert at her trial, was “not reliable”.

Retired consultant paediatrician Dr Evans said concerns regarding his evidence were “unsubstantiated, unfounded, inaccurate”. 

Letby has been interviewed at HMP Bronzefield in Ashford, Surrey, under caution in relation to the ongoing investigation into baby deaths and non-fatal collapses.

She maintains her innocence.