Families hit out at Letby 'innocence' speculation

Lucy Letby is serving 15 whole-life sentences

A solicitor representing the families of six victims of Lucy Letby said online speculation about the safety of the nurse's conviction was "upsetting" for all of her clients.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Tamlin Bolton said: "I can't stress enough how upsetting that has been for all of the families that I represent."

Letby was jailed for the rest of her life for the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of seven others at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016.

An inquiry into how Letby was able to commit her crimes is set to begin on Tuesday.

Tamlin Bolton said families wanted answers about the events leading up to their babies' deaths

One of the medical witnesses in the case also reported being attacked by a member of the public with "pro-Letby beliefs", it was reported in the Sunday Times.

Cheshire Police said in a statement: "We can confirm that we are aware of an assault involving one of the witnesses from the Lucy Letby case and an investigation into the incident is under way."

Ms Bolton said the families wanted to "make sure they put their voice across," but added they were "restricted by wanting to keep themselves confidential and private".

"So it's a really difficult challenge for them to try and avoid social media, avoid the reporting about it."

Ms Bolton said it was distressing for relatives of Letby's victims to see the speculation online.

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Letby is serving 15 whole-life orders - making her only the fourth woman in UK history to be told she will never be released from prison.

In recent days, there has been speculation the convicted child killer may launch a fresh appeal with a new legal team, with her new barrister claiming there was "absolutely" a strong case Letby was innocent.

Ms Bolton later told BBC Radio 4: "It is the families that are going through this, continuing to go through this in its enormity and sincerity.

"They are the ones still raising children now, who will have to explain to them one day exactly what happened to them as children or their siblings on that unit."

'Some parents unaware'

Ms Bolton also said her clients felt there were "still gaps" in their understanding of what happened.

She said it was important to highlight that this was focussed on the "duty of candour" between patients and hospitals, rather than the criminal convictions "which are final".

The solicitor added: "The inquiry process is entirely different from the criminal trial and the inquiry is looking at very different things... (it) is dealing with the duty of candour between patients and hospitals.

"It's looking at the role of a number of different bodies and how they interplay with patient safety in the hospital and it's looking at governance."

She added for a number of the parents, they "weren't even aware that their children had suffered any kind of collapses or incidents on that unit" until they were contacted by the police.

"So it's really important that that's made clear to them and they can see the full picture, the full story of what happened, particularly given what we'd heard in the press following the criminal trial about the consultants' efforts to try and raise their concerns about Letby," Ms Bolton added.