Four key moments from the Lucy Letby inquiry today

A lawyer for some of the parents of babies murdered by Letby said those who “recklessly" promote conspiracy theories about the case should be “ashamed”.

Lucy Letby, Undated handout issued by Cheshire Constabulary of nurse Lucy Letby. The British neonatal nurse has been found guilty of killing seven babies and trying to kill six others. Lucy Letby was charged with murder in the deaths of five baby boys and two girls, and the attempted murder of five boys and five girls, when she worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwest England between 2015 and 2016. (Handout Image: Cheshire Constabulary)
Lucy Letby was found guilty of murdering seven babies and the attempted murder of seven more between 2015 and 2016. (Handout Image: Cheshire Constabulary)

Basic failures by the hospital where killer nurse Lucy Letby worked had “fatal consequences” for babies, an inquiry into her crimes has heard.

On the third day of the Thirlwall Inquiry – set up to examine how the 34-year-old nurse was able to carry out her crimes in the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015 and 2016 – a lawyer representing seven of the families said there were “five basic failures which occurred right from the start and which continued for the next two years”.

Also during the inquiry, a separate lawyer for some of the parents of babies murdered by Letby said everybody who “recklessly promotes conspiracy theories” about the case should be “ashamed of themselves”.

It follows a number of experts in recent weeks raising concerns about the safety of Letby's conviction.

Click the headlines below to read more from our news partners lower down

> ‘Five basic failures’ at hospital where Letby worked

> Letby conspiracy theorists ‘should be ashamed'

> Breathing tubes 'dislodged Letby shifts'

> 'The serial killer is venerated'

"Basic failures" by the hospital where Letby worked had "fatal consequences", an inquiry heard.

Peter Skelton KC, representing seven of the families, detailed five "basic failures" by the hospital.

Speaking at Liverpool Town Hall, he said: "The first failure was to conduct swift, careful and methodical investigations into why each of the deaths occurred and whether there were connections between the deaths."

File photo dated 10/06/19 of police at the home of Lucy Letby in Chester. Nurse Lucy Letby, 33, has been found guilty at Manchester Crown Court of the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of six others at the Countess of Chester Hospital. Issue date: Friday August 18, 2023.
The home of Lucy Letby in Chester.

The parents of babies murdered by the former nurse Lucy Letby have said conspiracy theorists should be “ashamed”, in a statement read by a lawyer to a public inquiry.

There have been numerous reports highlighting the doubts of some over Letby’s convictions, including a group of neonatal experts and statisticians who have called on the government to postpone or change the terms of the inquiry over their concerns.

At the inquiry on Thursday, Richard Baker KC, a barrister speaking on behalf of the parents of Children C, D, E, F, G, H, J, K, O, P and R, five of whom were murdered by Letby, said: “Everybody who recklessly promotes conspiracy theories, or who parrots them without questioning the same tired misconceptions about this case, should be ashamed of themselves.

Breathing tubes became dislodged on 40% of shifts that Lucy Letby worked as a trainee nurse in Liverpool before she went on her killing spree at the Countess of Chester Hospital, a public inquiry has heard.

Letby, 34, is understood to have completed two work placements at Liverpool Women’s Hospital between October and December 2012, and January and February 2015.

In his opening statement on Thursday, Richard Baker KC, representing nine families, said that collapses in neonatal units involving “unusual” complications such as dislodgement of endotracheal tubes was “uncommon”.

“You will hear that an audit carried out by Liverpool Women’s Hospital recorded that whilst Lucy Letby was working there, dislodgement of endotracheal tubes occurred in 40% of shifts that she worked. One may wonder: why?”

Part of the opening statement of Richard Baker KC, a barrister speaking on behalf of the parents of Children C, D, E, F, G, H, J, K, O, P and R:

“The position of the families in this inquiry is unique. They are anonymised by ciphers, as are their children. Some are concerned that this has the effect of dehumanising them in the eyes of the public and media, and has cultivated an environment where people feel able to express vile opinions through social media, an environment where the serial killer who murdered or attacked their children is, by contrast, humanised or even venerated.