Lucy Letby latest: Nurse did not murder any babies, claims expert, as bad care and natural causes blamed

Lucy Letby did not murder seven babies at Countess of Chester Hospital, claim experts, who say fresh medical evidence shows natural causes and “bad medical care” were to blame.

An international panel of 14 neonatologists presented what it described as “significant new medical evidence” in the case of nurse Letby, who is serving 15 whole-life orders for the murder of seven infants and attempted murder of seven others between June 2015 and June 2016 at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

The panel was convened by Canadian professor Dr Shoo Lee after he claimed the prosecution misinterpreted a 1989 paper he had written on air embolisms, which was used in evidence at Letby's trial.

Unveiling the findings on Tuesday, Dr Lee claimed the team found no evidence of deliberate harm in any of the cases, adding: “We did not find any murders. In all cases death or injury were deemed to be natural causes or just bad medical care.”

It comes as Letby's lawyers applied for her case to be reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) as a potential miscarriage of justice after she exhausted her challenges at the Court of Appeal.

The new research carried out by the expert panel will be submitted to the CCRC, which has the power to send her case back to the Court of Appeal if it finds there is a substantial possibility judges could overturn the convictions.

Key points

• 'We did not find any murders’, experts claim
• Medical experts' conclusion in four points
• Evidence against Letby has been ‘demolished’, lawyer claims
• What happens now?

Opinion | This is why I think Lucy Letby is guilty – and you should too

06:00 , Andy Gregory

In an opinion piece written in September, Nigel Bunyan, who has spent countless hours examining the evidence and putting together a timeline of what happened, wrote:

There’s a new circus in town and its butterfly-themed banners are emblazoned with the name of a nurse called Lucy Letby. Increasingly, vocal supporters would have us believe that the 34-year-old has been wrongly convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill seven more for which she has received 15 whole-life prison sentences.

Pitching her as a loving nurse whose life of selfless dedication has been wilfully destroyed because of a problematic neonatal unit in need of a scapegoat for the babies that died on their watch, she emerges as a perfect heroine, you might think, for the next Netflix blockbuster.

Except that in the real world, the evidence tells us there has been no miscarriage of justice. Letby was convicted by not just one, but two, juries at two separate trials. Having spent nights and early mornings compiling a 17,000-word timeline of that lethal year at the Countess of Chester Hospital, like them, I have no doubt of the culpability of this nurse.

And according to the time-honoured workings of the UK legal system, she actually is the real deal – a convicted serial killer who murdered the most vulnerable infants in her “care”, causing untold devastation to their parents and all who loved them.

This is why I think Lucy Letby is guilty – and you should too

Experts claim 'new medical evidence' will give Lucy Letby victims' families 'comfort'

05:00 , Andy Gregory

Watchdog has already started assessing Letby's case

04:00 , Andy Gregory

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) received an application from Lucy Letby’s lawyers on Monday and said that work has already begun to assess the case, which involves "a significant volume of complicated evidence".

Its announcement came minutes before a press conference organised by her legal team, where they claim a panel of experts on the care of newborn babies will present what they say is "significant new medical evidence".

What has CPS said about Tuesday's claims?

03:01 , Andy Gregory

The Crown Prosecution Service had no comment on the new medical panel's conclusions.

Prosecutors previously said that two juries had convicted Letby and three appellate judges had rejected her arguments that the prosecution expert evidence was flawed.

Letby barrister claims crimes 'never happened'

02:04 , Andy Gregory

Mark McDonald, the barrister leading Lucy Letby’s legal team, claimed at Tuesday’s press conference that there was now "overwhelming evidence" Letby was wrongly convicted and she is "sitting in prison for the rest of her life for a crime that just never happened."

"The reason Lucy Letby was convicted was because of the medical evidence presented to the jury," Mr McDonald claimed. "That today has been demolished."

Appeals against Letby's convictions up until now

01:06 , Andy Gregory

Lucy Letby is serving 15 whole life prison sentences after being convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others.

Last year, she lost two bids last year to challenge her convictions at the Court of Appeal.

The first bid in May was over 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.

Dr Shoo Lee gave evidence as part of the first application, but this was rejected as three senior judges.

They concluded there had been no prosecution expert evidence diagnosing air embolus solely on the basis of skin discolouration.

Now, Letby’s lawyers have lodged a request to the Criminal Cases Review Commission to investigate her case as a potential miscarriage of justice.

The body will assess if the new evidence gives a reasonable chance of a conviction being overturned - and the case could be referred to the Court of Appeal.

Physician Neena Modi, Letby's lawyer Mark McDonald and Conservative MP David Davis on the panel to present new evidence today (EPA)

Watch: MP claims Letby convictions could be ‘one of major injustices of modern times’

00:08 , Andy Gregory

In Focus | I’m a miscarriage of justice expert – here’s my view on Lucy Letby

Tuesday 4 February 2025 23:10 , Andy Gregory

In this opinion piece, David James Smith writes:

During my time in office as a commissioner at the Criminal Cases Review Commission – the body responsible for investigating alleged wrongful convictions and referring cases for a new appeal where there is a real possibility of success – I encountered many safe verdicts that had been built on circumstantial evidence.

We cannot know whether Letby is innocent. Only Letby herself knows that. But we can say that she was never caught “red-handed”; she was not seen committing those acts and there is still no definitive forensic evidence linking her to them.

I am not a lawyer, but every criminal practitioner knows that “indirect” evidence, especially where it exists in multiple strands, can be powerful and compelling evidence of guilt, underscored by the unlikelihood of coincidence.

Read more in this piece:

Is Lucy Letby innocent? I’m a miscarriage of justice expert – here’s what I think

What is the 'new medical evidence' against Lucy Letby's conviction?

Tuesday 4 February 2025 22:12 , Andy Gregory

A panel of experts claimed Lucy Letby did not commit murder after its chairman presented “significant new medical evidence” on her court case.

My colleague Albert Toth has more details on their claims here:

Lucy Letby: What is the 'new medical evidence’ experts say challenges her conviction?

What evidence did the expert panel present today?

Tuesday 4 February 2025 21:15 , Albert Toth

Letby’s legal team said it revealed “significant new medical evidence” on Tuesday morning based on findings from the expert panel which Dr Lee assembled. Lawyers claimed these findings show no evidence of deliberate harm in any of the 17 cases, but other varying reasons including natural causes and “bad medical care”.

The expert panel also challenged the prosecution’s claim that Letby murdered seven babies by injecting air into their veins and causing an air embolism which blocks the blood supply. Their evidence was supported by Dr Lee’s 1989 paper on the topic, which Letby’s legal team said was based on a different kind of embolism.

The professor also takes issue specifically with the prosecution’s claim that skin discolouration on the skin of several of the babies was evidence of an air embolism. He said there are several other reasons this could have occurred, adding discolouration is only a symptom in around 10 per cent of cases of air embolism – but it was present in nine of 17 babies harmed at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

The professor added: “In summary, ladies and gentlemen, we did not find any murders. In all cases, death or injury were deemed to be natural causes or just bad medical care.”

Letby's barrister insists they will return to court 'very soon'

Tuesday 4 February 2025 19:18 , Andy Gregory

Mark McDonald, the barrister leading Lucy Letby’s legal team insisted they would be back in the Court of Appeal “very soon”.

He said: “There is overwhelming evidence that the conviction is unsafe. And if Dr Shoo Lee and the panel are correct, no crime was committed.

“And if no crime was committed, that means a 34-year-old woman is currently sitting in prison for the rest of her life for a crime that just never happened.”

Watch: Experts claim they found 'no murders' in Lucy Letby case

Tuesday 4 February 2025 18:20 , Andy Gregory

Alternative causes of death given by the medical experts

Tuesday 4 February 2025 17:20 , Alex Ross

As we’ve been reporting, an international panel of medical experts revealed their case summaries on seven babies who former nurse Lucy Letby was convicted of attacking at the Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015 and 2016.

They concluded that no criminal offences had been committed and instead provided alternative causes of death:

– Baby 1 (known as Child A in the trial) – The prosecution said the boy was murdered by an injection of air into the bloodstream which caused a fatal blockage to the blood supply. The panel found no evidence of air embolism and said the child had died from thrombosis, where a blood clot forms in a vessel.

– Baby 4 (Child D) – The prosecution said the girl was murdered by an injection of air into the bloodstream which caused a fatal blockage to the blood supply. The panel found no evidence of air embolism and ruled the child died of systemic sepsis, pneumonia and disseminated intravascular coagulation (blood clotting). Issues with failures to give relevant antibiotics were also identified.

– Baby 6 (Child F) – The prosecution said Letby attempted to murder the boy by administering insulin. The panel ruled that the child’s insulin levels and insulin/C-peptide ratio did not prove that exogenous insulin was used and were within the norm for preterm infants. It added that there was poor medical management of the child’s prolonged hypoglycaemia.

– Baby 7 (Child G) – The prosecution said Letby attempted to murder the girl by overfeeding her with milk and forcing air down her feeding tube. The panel said there was no evidence to support air injection into the stomach or overfeeding. The infant’s vomiting and clinical deterioration was due to infection, it found.

– Baby 9 (Child I) – The prosecution said Letby murdered the infant by injecting air into her bloodstream and stomach. The panel said it found no evidence of air injections and that the baby died of breathing complications caused by respiratory distress syndrome and chronic lung disease.

– Baby 11 (Child K) – The prosecution said Letby attempted to murder the girl by deliberately dislodging her breathing tube. Among its findings the panel said there was no evidence to support a dislodged endotracheal tube (ETT) and the clinical deterioration was caused by use of an undersized ETT.

– Baby 15 (Child O) – The prosecution said Letby murdered the triplet boy by injecting air into his bloodstream and inflicting trauma to his liver. The panel said her died from liver damage caused by traumatic delivery, resulting in bleeding in the abdomen and profound shock.

A police review and public inquiry taking place

Tuesday 4 February 2025 13:21 , Alex Ross

Following Lucy Letby’s final conviction last year, a number of actions have been taking place.

Today, we heard how an application has been lodged with the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, for the Letby case to be reviewed that is taking place.

A public inquiry into how the nurse committed her crimes is also under way, and detectives from Cheshire Constabulary are continuing their review of the care of some 4,000 babies admitted to hospital while Letby worked as a neonatal nurse.

Lady Justice Thirlwall is chair of the Thirlwall Inquiry, which is looking into how the nurse committed her crimes (PA Wire)

Letby's lawyer wants case referred to the Court of Appeal by the summer

Tuesday 4 February 2025 12:50

Mark McDonald, the barrister leading Lucy Letby’s legal team has described Tuesday’s presentation as a “gamechanger”.

Asked what he thought of the press conference, Mr McDonald said: “I’ve never known anything like it.

“You know, never before – and I mean it’s a grand statement to make – but never before have we had such an experienced credible body of experts come together across the world and say something has gone wrong, and I think it’s a gamechanger.”

Mr McDonald said he would like to see the matter “certainly referred to the Court of Appeal by the summer”.

'It is about a young woman's life', Dr Shoo Lee explains why he took investigation on

Tuesday 4 February 2025 12:46 , Alex Ross

Dr Shoo Lee said he took on the Lucy Letby investigation because he “could not see how we could send an innocent woman to jail for the rest of her life if in fact she was innocent”.

Speaking after the press conference, he said that he was first contacted about the case in relation to an appeal by the convicted child killer and, after looking at transcripts, he became “concerned that there was a problem with this conviction because the evidence that’s being used to convict her – regardless of whether she is innocent or guilty – was wrong”.

He later added: “It is about a young woman’s life. All of us, our lives are precious. I could not see how we could send an innocent woman to jail for the rest of her life if in fact she was innocent.

“So I decided to investigate and that’s when I approached the solicitors to say I would be willing to look at the evidence to see whether or not there was a problem with the evidence.

“This is no longer just one physician standing up to say Lucy Letby was wrongly accused, this is the panel of 14 of the world’s top experts.

“If you don’t believe them who will you believe?”

(Getty Images)

Downing Street declines to comment on application for Letby case to be reviewed

Tuesday 4 February 2025 12:34 , Alex Ross

Downing Street declined to comment on an application by convicted child serial killer Lucy Letby to have her case reviewed.

Asked whether Sir Keir Starmer thought she was guilty, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “This was a truly horrendous case that shocked the nation. A criminal trial has taken place and Lucy Letby was found guilty.

“There is, of course, an established process through the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which is independent of Government, and the commission has today confirmed they have received an application from Ms Letby’s legal team.

“We wouldn’t get drawn on that independent process.”

What happens now?

Tuesday 4 February 2025 12:22 , Amy-Clare Martin

Despite the bombshell press conference, where a panel of leading neonatologists said they believe all Letby’s victims died of natural causes or bad medical care, Letby is still a convicted child murderer.

Having been sentenced to 15 whole life orders, she will never be released unless her bid to overturn her convictions succeeds.

The panel’s findings will now be passed to the Criminal Cases Review Commission who must decide if the new evidence merits the case being referred to the Court of Appeal.

But with a lengthy backlog, it could take years for them to investigate her case and there is no guarantee they will agree with her lawyer’s assessment that the evidence against her has been “demolished”.

If the CCRC application succeeds, it will then be up to judges at the Court of Appeal to review her conviction.

(Ben Whitley/PA)

Medical expert's conclusions in four points

Tuesday 4 February 2025 12:17 , Alex Ross

The press conference has ended and a report on the medical team’s evidence has been given to journalists.

Here is the conclusion summarised in four points:

• There was no medical evidence to support malfeasance causing death or injury in any of the 17 cases in the trial
• Death of injury of affected infants were due to natural causes or errors in medical care
• There were problems related to the medical care of patients at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit
• There were problems related to teamwork and inter-disciplinary collaboration of the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit

'Overwhelming evidence conviction is unsafe', says Letby's lawyer

Tuesday 4 February 2025 11:58 , Alex Ross

Mark McDonald, the barrister leading Lucy Letby’s legal team said they would be back in the Court of Appeal “very soon”.

It comes after an application was made by the team to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) for a review of the convictions on the grounds of a potential miscarriage of justice.

Mr McDonald said: “There is overwhelming evidence that the conviction is unsafe. And if Dr Shoo Lee and the panel are correct, no crime was committed.

“And if no crime was committed, that means a 34-year-old woman is currently sitting in prison for the rest of her life for a crime that just never happened.”

Medical evidence against Letby has been ‘demolished’, lawyer claims

Tuesday 4 February 2025 11:51 , Amy-Clare Martin

Asked about the other circumstantial evidence brought by the prosecution against Letby, Mr McDonald said: “The reason why Lucy Letby was convicted was because of the medical evidence that was presented to the jury. That today has been demolished.”

Sir David added that the statistical evidence has also been demolished.

'If this was a hospital in Canada, it would be shut down', says Dr Lee

Tuesday 4 February 2025 11:49 , Alex Ross

Asked about the Countess of Chester Hospital during questions from journalists at the Lucy Letby press conference, Dr Shoo Lee, a retired medic from Canada, said: “I would say if this was a hospital in Canada, it would be shut down.

“It would not be happening.”

(EPA)

Lawyer says experts report is ‘overwhelming evidence that this conviction is unsafe’

Tuesday 4 February 2025 11:41 , Amy-Clare Martin

Letby’s barrister Mark McDonald said they have made an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission who are “waiting eagerly” for the experts’ report.

“What we have just heard and what will be in the report is overwhelming evidence that this conviction is unsafe and must be urgently referred back to the Court of Appeal,” he said.

(Ben Whitley/PA)

Sir David Davis says this is a ‘case study’ in why courts must overhaul how they handle expert evidence

Tuesday 4 February 2025 11:27

“Back in 2011 the Law Commission published a report challenging the handling of expert evidence in court,” MP Sir David Davis says.

“This case is a case study in why that report should have been implemented. It hasn’t been and it should be now.”

He’s called for an overhaul of how “new evidence” is defined for the purposes of an appeal.

Final message to the families of the infants

Tuesday 4 February 2025 11:26 , Alex Ross

Dr Lee says his evidence will be provided to the Criminal Cases Review Commission which is now handling a request from Letby’s lawyer to investigate the case.

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

'Bad medical care' at the hospital, Dr Lee claims

Tuesday 4 February 2025 11:23

Dr Lee finishes his conclusion by saying: “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.”

Letby is serving 15 whole-life orders after being found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to end the lives of seven more between 2015 and 2016.

(Ben Whitley/PA)

'No medical evidence to support malfeasance', Dr Lee concludes

Tuesday 4 February 2025 11:20 , Alex Ross

Dr Lee has provided his evidence and is now drawing his conclusion.

He says: “There was no medical evidence to support malfeasance causing death or injury in any of the 17 cases at the trial.”

“Death or injury of all the infected infants were due to natural causes or medical care.

“There were serious problems relating to medical care of patients at this hospital.”

He highlights alleged issues relating to teamwork and collaboration at the Countess of Chester Hospital

'We did not find any murders’, experts claim

Tuesday 4 February 2025 11:12 , Amy-Clare Martin

Dr Lee says: “In summary, ladies and gentleman, we did not find any murders. In all cases death or injury were deemed to be 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.”

He adds: “If you are looking for the truth you don’t need to go any further.”

Baby 7 was not overfed, says Dr Lee

Tuesday 4 February 2025 11:12 , Alex Ross

Letby was convicted of the attempted murder of Baby 7, who was left severely disabled.

The jury was told that the baby was deliberately overfed, causing the baby to vomit, and then injected with air in the stomach, leading respiratory failure.

Dr Lee says the baby was “very ill”, and that was probably suffering from a viral infection, which led to the vomiting and large watery stools.

He adds: “There is no evidence to support any injection to the stomach or overfeeding.

(PA Archive)

Dr Lee argues it was ‘highly likely’ Baby 15 suffered an injury during birth

Tuesday 4 February 2025 11:06 , Alex Ross

The expert said Baby 15, the second of a set of pre-term triplets delivered by in-labour caesarean section, likely suffered an injury during a traumatic birth.

He said the allegation that air was injected into the infant’s intravenous line was “nothing but conjecture”.

He told the conference that an abdominal injury, likely caused during rapid delivery, caused the infant to bleed into her abdomen.

No evidence endotracheal tube to Baby 11 was dislodged, says Dr Lee

Tuesday 4 February 2025 10:47

On Baby 11, Dr Lee argues there was no evidence to support the allegation of the endotracheal tube being dislodged.

He concludes the baby's deterioration was caused by an oversized endotracheal tube, adding the initial intubation was "traumatic and poorly supervised".

(Sky News)

Alarm for Baby 9 on collapse was not turned off, says Dr Lee

Tuesday 4 February 2025 10:44

We’re now on to Baby 9, who Dr Lee says the prosecution presented a case where the child died from having air injected inside their body, causing air embolism and death.

He adds that the jury was told an alarm connected to the baby was turned off to delay response to their collapse.

He says the died from respiratory complications caused by respiratory distress syndrome, complicated by a bacteria called stenotrophomonas maltophilia.

And on the alarm, he says it did not go off because it is set to sound when there is 20 seconds without breath.

“Because the baby is gasping with less than 20 seconds each time, it [alarm not sounding] wasn’t because it was switched off.”

He suggests the medics caring for her failed to respond timely to a bacterial infection with antibiotics.

Baby 4 died from systemic sepsis and pneumonia, says Dr Lee

Tuesday 4 February 2025 10:32 , Alex Ross

Concluding the death of Baby 4, Dr Lee says the infant died from systemic sepsis and pneumonia, adding again that the child's mother should have been treated with antibiotics before birth.

"We found no evidence of air embolism," he says.

“This was not a stable baby as alleged by the prosecution witness,” he adds. “This baby continued to deteriorate for the next few days until final collapse.”

(The Independent)

Baby 4's mother was not given required treatment, Dr Lee says

Tuesday 4 February 2025 10:29 , Alex Ross

Baby 4 died due to collapse following the injection of air causing air embolism and death, the jury heard.

Dr Lee says there is no evidence that air embolisms result in patching of the skin, which was referred to in the trial.

This baby was born with a rupture of the membrane in their mother before birth, Dr Lee says.

He adds that the mother should have been given antibiotics to protect against infection.

In this case, he says, she wasn’t.

Baby 1 died from thrombosis with no evidence of air emoblism, Dr Lee says

Tuesday 4 February 2025 10:25

The first case presented by Dr Shoo Lee is Baby 1, who the jury was given evidence to who they died from air emoblism.

Dr Lee gives a short timeline of the child’s death up until their collapse and death.

He questions evidence that the baby died from air embolism, and says there could have been an underlining cause.

He says the allegation was the baby, a pre-term boy who collapsed two days after being born, was injected air into his veins, causing his collapse and death.

He says the panel concluded the baby died from thrombosis, which is when a blood clot blocks blood vessels.

He says: "Our conclusion is that baby 1 died from thrombosis and that there was no evidence of air embolism.”

Panel examined all cases

Tuesday 4 February 2025 10:14 , Alex Ross

Dr Shoo Lee says the panel examined all 17 cases that involved different allegations on causes of death and injuries

He says they will present their findings in brief. “If we went through it all, we’d be here forever,” he says.

“We will give you the highlights of what happened.”

(Sky News)

Criminal Cases Review Commission confirms application submitted to investigate case

Tuesday 4 February 2025 10:11

A Criminal Cases Review Commission (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.”

Introducing panel and their qualifications and experience

Tuesday 4 February 2025 10:10 , Alex Ross

Dr Shoo Lee, who says he is chair of the panel, is now introducing the panel members, and their experience.

Just before Dr Lee spoke, MP Sir David Davis: “He’s come here today, I suspect at his own expense, to put right what I think, anyway, is one of the major injustices of modern times.”

Panel's objective explained

Tuesday 4 February 2025 10:07 , Alex Ross

Dr Shoo Lee says concerns over the evidence provided at the trial led to him convening an expert panel to examine all the material, and look again at the cause of death and injuries.

It was, he says, to find if the findings were favourable or unfavourable to Lucy.

“Our objective was to provide an impartial evidenced based report on what what caused the infants’ deaths based on medical evidence.”

(Sky News)

Panel issues message to infants' families

Tuesday 4 February 2025 10:04 , Alex Ross

Dr Shoo Lee begins by saying he is at the press conference to share the findings of the panel.

He, however, starts by saying the panel’s work has not been done to cause more distress for the families of the victims.

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