Experts want inquiry delay over Letby evidence concerns

Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies and trying to murder seven more

A group of experts have asked the government to postpone or alter the public inquiry into the Lucy Letby case over concerns about the way evidence was presented to her trial.

Letby was sentenced to 15 whole life terms after being convicted of killing seven babies and trying to kill seven more while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016.

Lady Justice Thirlwall is due to open a public inquiry into what happened and the hospital's response at Liverpool Town Hall on 10 September.

In a letter, 24 neonatal experts said the natural assumption that the nurse was a murderer may mean "alternative, potentially complex causes" for the deaths were not examined and "important lessons" were missed.

The letter, which was quoted in The Guardian and confirmed by the BBC, said the group had concerns over the way statistics and the science around newborn babies were presented to the jury at Letby's first trial.

One area of concern was a chart shown to the jury which showed that Letby was present on the hospital's neonatal unit for all the murders and attempted murders.

However, it has since been claimed that there were six other deaths on the unit in the same period when Letby was not present.

'Highly complex case'

The group said making the natural assumption, following the convictions, that [Letby] was a murderer may lead to "a failure in understanding and examining alternative, potentially complex causes for the deaths, thus missing important lessons".

"Possible negligent deaths that were presumed to be murders could result in an incomplete investigation of the management response to the crisis," they added.

Warwick University's Prof Jane Hutton, an expert in medical data who signed the letter, told the BBC that in her opinion the work behind the statistics presented to the jury "appears not to have been done in the way that it should be".

She said a police statement suggested "the work was done with Lucy Letby in mind, which is completely inappropriate".

"In a highly complex case like this, there are very high standards and it’s not clear whether they’ve been followed," she said.

She said she and other members of the Royal Statistical Society had offered to give evidence to the Thirlwall Inquiry and had been told it would consider whether their evidence was "relevant".

Judges have denied Letby leave to appeal the convictions at her original trial.

A spokesperson for the Thirlwall Inquiry told the BBC it would begin as planned on 10 September and would "follow the terms of reference set by the secretary of state".

Cheshire Police declined to comment.