Witnesses will be forced to give evidence at the inquiry into how Lucy Letby was able to murder seven babies, the health secretary has announced, in a move welcomed by victims’ families.
Steve Barclay announced the inquiry would be put on a statutory footing after mounting criticism that it lacked the necessary powers to compel people to give testimony under oath or force the disclosure of documents.
Lawyers for the victims’ families argued it was important that former and current staff of the Countess of Chester hospital trust, where Letby worked as a neonatal nurse, could be forced to appear.
Letby became only the third woman alive to be handed a whole-life jail term on 21 August when she was sentenced for murdering seven babies and trying to kill another six.
Ministers initially insisted that the inquiry should be non-statutory – meaning witnesses could decline to give evidence – so that it could reach its conclusions more quickly.
The inquiry is expected to cover the broader context of events at the trust, including the handling of concerns raised by some doctors in the years leading up to her arrest. Governance procedures and the measures undertaken by regulators and the wider NHS will also likely be scrutinised.
The announcement came after Rishi Sunak announced that judges would be given more powers to order “cowardly” offenders to attend their sentencing hearings, after Letby refused to appear in the dock to hear victim impact statements from families.
Steve Barclay, the health secretary, said he had wanted the nature of the inquiry to be “shaped by the families” and statutory status had been granted after discussions with them.
Richard Scorer, head of abuse law and public inquiries at law firm Slater and Gordon, which is representing two of the families, said the move was “essential” not just for the parents of Letby’s victims but “for all of us”. “Without these powers, the inquiry would have been ineffectual and our clients would have been deprived of the answers they need and deserve,” he said.
He continued: “We all need to be sure that the NHS delivers the best possible care, that hospital management is accountable and responsive to concerns, and that whistleblowers are treated fairly. We cannot let what occurred at the Countess of Chester hospital to ever happen again. This inquiry must lay bare the facts of what happened but it must also be the start of much needed change.”
No judge has yet been appointed for the inquiry and its terms of reference have not been finalised.
A statutory inquiry is, under law, one held under the terms of the 2005 Inquiries Act, giving its chair significant extra powers, such as the ability to compel witnesses to give evidence in person, or hand over material – as with the ongoing Covid inquiry’s battle to see material from Boris Johnson that ministers resisted handing over.
Under the act, only ministers from either the UK government or devolved nations can establish a statutory inquiry, and it can only be done as a response to a limited set of events, for example the mass loss of life or serious failures in health and safety or regulation.
Ministers can also, as in this case, convert another type of inquiry into a statutory one. When this is done they have a duty to make a statement to parliament as soon as possible, setting out who will chair the inquiry and form its panel, and the terms of reference.
“The crimes committed by Lucy Letby are truly harrowing, and my thoughts remain with the families of her victims,” said Barclay.
“Following her conviction, we announced an inquiry and said the nature of this inquiry would be shaped by the families. Having now discussed this with the families, we will launch a full statutory inquiry giving it the legal powers to compel witnesses to give evidence.
“This statutory public inquiry will aim to give the families the answers they need and ensure lessons are learned.”
Dr Ravi Jayaram, one of the doctors who raised concerns about Letby to senior managers at the Countess of Chester hospital, told ITV News: “I don’t understand why, right at the start, there was a rush to say it was going to be non-statutory.
“I’m glad this is going to be a public inquiry because no stone will be left unturned and questions that need to be asked will be asked and the answers will be found – unlike in a non-statutory inquiry where questions that will cause difficult or embarrassing answers won’t get asked.”
The shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting, also welcomed the news, saying: “It’s right that the wishes of the families have now been taken into account.
“No stone can be left unturned in getting to the truth of this awful tragedy. Nothing short of the full force of the law would do.”
