Letby inquiry findings to be published Tuesday

The findings of a public inquiry into how former nurse Lucy Letby was able to harm infants at a hospital neonatal unit will be published on Tuesday. The Thirlwall Inquiry was established in 2023 following the former nurse’s multiple convictions for murder and attempted murder of infants at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

Lady Justice Thirlwall, a senior judge, heard evidence from numerous witnesses, including the parents of Letby’s victims, between September 2024 and February 2025. The inquiry’s main aims were to provide answers for the victims’ families and ensure lessons are learned.

Focus on Hospital Conduct

Lady Justice Thirlwall’s investigation did not examine Letby’s convictions or her reasons for the crimes. Instead, it concentrated on the behaviour of those working at the Countess of Chester, including the board, managers, doctors, and nurses, from when Letby began her employment in 2012.

Letby, 36, was moved from the neonatal unit to administrative roles in July 2016 after consultants raised concerns about her with the hospital’s executive team. Hospital leaders initiated several reviews into the increased mortality rates in 2015 and 2016. Cheshire Constabulary was not asked to investigate until May 2017, and Letby remained at the hospital until her arrest over a year later.

The inquiry considered whether suspicions should have been raised earlier and if the police and other external bodies should have been informed sooner. It also examined the response to concerns about Letby and whether the hospital trust’s culture, management, governance structures, and processes, along with the wider NHS, contributed to the failure to protect babies.

Evidence was also heard regarding whether the accountability of senior managers should be enhanced. Sir Robert Francis, who led the inquiry into failings at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, stated that there was no regulator with sufficient authority to impose penalties on poorly performing non-clinical directors.

Ongoing Investigations and Future Inquests

Letby, from Hereford, is serving 15 whole-life terms for the murders of seven infants and the attempted murders of seven others between June 2015 and June 2016. She was twice refused permission to appeal her convictions in 2024.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission is reviewing evidence presented on her behalf by international medical experts who suggest poor medical care and natural causes were responsible for the babies’ collapses. Some doctors, scientists, and statisticians have publicly questioned the evidence presented at her trial.

Solicitors representing Letby expressed concerns that the final report might be redundant and unreliable, potentially based on an incorrect premise if her convictions were overturned. Lawyers for the former senior management team suggested there was a real possibility the convictions could be overturned. However, legal teams for the victims’ families described these claims as a cynical attempt by Letby to control the narrative and stated that the executives wished to avoid criticism.

Investigations by Cheshire Constabulary into potential offences of corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter are continuing. Inquests into the deaths of the babies Letby was convicted of murdering are scheduled to take place in May 2027.