Grievance panel saw Letby as 'victim of witch-hunt'

Lucy Letby made a complaint about the consultants who demanded that she be removed her unit

The chairwoman of a grievance panel which examined a complaint by Lucy Letby said she had initially thought accusations against the nurse were a "witch-hunt", a public inquiry heard.

Annette Weartherley also told police how rumours had been circulating that a doctor who had accused Letby had "made a pass" at her and been "rebuffed".

Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies and tried to kill seven more between June 2015 and June 2016, while working on the neonatal unit at Countess of Chester Hospital.

She was moved from clinical duties into a clerical role in July 2016 after consultants told managers they believed she was linked to unexpected collapses and deaths of babies.

'So sad'

The Thirlwall Inquiry, which is examining the circumstances around Letby's crimes, heard that Ms Weatherley was deputy chief nurse at a trust in Manchester at the time.

She was brought in to be the independent chairwoman of a grievance panel set up by the Chester hospital after Letby made a formal complaint about being moved off the neonatal unit.

Ms Weatherley told the inquiry that before the grievance hearing started she was asked by Dee Appleton-Cairns, the deputy director of human resources at the Countess, what she thought of the accusations against Letby.

Ms Weatherley said she told Ms Appleton-Cairns she thought it was a “witch-hunt” and added that Ms Appleton-Cairns, who was also on the grievance panel, replied: “We all think the same, it’s so sad.”

The inquiry also heard that in a police interview about the case, Ms Weatherly said she’d heard a rumour that Letby had rebuffed “physical advances" from one of the consultants.

She told a detective: "It was someone that told me that, I can't remember who it was when I was there but there was a rumour."

The inquiry has previously heard Letby denied to a nursing manager that either neonatal clinical lead Dr Stephen Brearey or children's services lead Dr Ravi Jayaram had ever made a pass at her.

Karen Rees, the head of nursing in urgent care at the time, said she had queried whether there was a "personal motive" to the concerns expressed about Letby by both consultants.

She said: "I asked her if either of them had ever made a pass at her. She replied 'absolutely not'."

Letby was convicted of seven counts of murder and eight of attempted murder, including two attempts to kill the same victim, after a trial at Manchester Crown Court.

She was sentenced to 15 whole-life prison sentences and has had two appeals against her convictions rejected.

The inquiry continues.