INQUIRY FINDS HOSPITAL FAILURES OVER LETBY BABY DEATHS

A public inquiry has found a "complete failure at all levels" to invoke safeguarding procedures and protect babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital. Nurse Lucy Letby murdered seven babies and attempted to murder seven others. Lady Justice Kathryn Thirlwall, who led the inquiry, said errors were made by nurses, doctors and managers. She said some babies could have been saved from death or injury had staff acted sooner. The inquiry did not examine Letby's guilt, but how concerns about her were handled between 2015 and 2016. It also considered whether earlier action could have stopped her.

Letby is serving 15 whole-life prison terms, including for one baby she tried to murder twice. She was moved off the unit to administrative duties in July 2016 after consultants raised concerns with hospital executives. The inquiry also examined whether warning signs should have prompted earlier action, including after three babies died in quick succession in June 2015. Thirlwall's inquiry heard six months of evidence and reviewed thousands of documents, at a cost reported to exceed £18.5 million. It is expected to recommend changes across the NHS.

Letby has maintained her innocence and has twice been refused permission to appeal against her convictions. Her lawyer, Mark McDonald, said he had submitted nearly 30 expert reports to the Criminal Cases Review Commission challenging the safety of her convictions, more than in any other case it has handled. He said the inquiry's findings would rest on a "wrong premise" if she is innocent, as he and dozens of experts believe. The commission's chairwoman, the only route for Letby's case to reach the Court of Appeal, told the BBC it would study the findings closely.