Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

The inquiry hears that Dr Katherine Davis - then a registrar - who was on the night shift when Baby C died, said this in her statement to the police:

“At the time, some of us began to question why this was happening. Although I wasn’t present at other similar deaths, I was aware of other babies who had suddenly [gone into cardiac arrest] in the same manner, which was odd.

"It was something that was on the ‘grapevine’ when working at other locations, people would say things like, 'have you heard about Chester?'.

"I would respond that, yes, there had been several odd and unexplained [cardiac arrests] but that there was no obvious answer or any suspicion towards any one factor."

This statement from a senior clinician was not heard at Letby's trial.

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

We're now hearing about the circumstances around the death of the third baby, referred to as "Child C".

"On 14 June 2015 during the night shift, Child C died, six days after the death of Child A and four days after the collapse of Child B.

"Letby was convicted of his murder," Langdale says, explaining he was the second baby to die on the neonatal unit "within a week".

"The deaths of Child A and Child C were unexpected. The clinical signs in relation to both deaths were, in the view of highly experienced consultants, unusual," she adds.

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from the inquiry

Langdale is now addressing internal hospital investigations immediately after the collapse of Child A, who died in June 2015 after a sudden deterioration involving an unusual rash.

A nurse (not Letby) described Child A’s death in an internal hospital system, Datix, as a: “Sudden and unexpected deterioration and death of a patient on the Neonatal unit after full resuscitation. Requiring post-mortem.”

The barrister says that Child A’s death, however, was not reported as a “Sudden Unexpected Death in Childhood”.

She says: “Of the seven indictment babies who died, it seems that only in the case of Child C did a doctor attend a Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood meeting.

"The unexpectedness of the death of Child A, the unusual rash, and the similarity of the circumstances of the collapses of Child A and Child B, were not overlooked by doctors or nurses on the unit.

"However, when the further deaths of Child C and Child D occurred, the significance of these discussions in relation to Child A and Child B appear to have been lost,” Langdale adds.

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

Langdale is explaining that the first two babies who Letby was convicted of attacking were babies A and B - a twin boy and girl.

The boy, Child A, died. The girl, Child B, survived.

She tells the Inquiry that both babies were observed by medics to have "unusual rashes" in June 2015.

The lead counsel to the inquiry adds that, although the medical team discussed it at the time, the twins’ mother says the information was not shared with her at the time.

"Within a 36 hour period there had been the death of Child A - who had been considered stable beforehand - and the unexpected collapse of Child B.

"The response by all of those who were involved in the resuscitations of the babies or their care prior to collapse, was one of shock," she says.

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from the inquiry

Rachel Langdale KC says that the inquiry will not be “inviting speculation” from the witnesses about Letby’s motives, which she says are “unfathomable” for “ordinary, decent, right-thinking people.”

She reminds the inquiry that in 2005, Dame Janet Smith, chair of the Shipman Inquiry, looked in detail at serial-killer GP Harold Shipman’s character and personality.

The barrister says: “Janet Smith concluded thus: ‘I regret to say that I can shed very little light on why Shipman killed his patients'.”

“History tells us that serial killers are deceptive, manipulative and skilled at hiding in plain sight," Langdale adds.

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from the inquiry

Langdale tells the hearing that Part A of the inquiry will focus on the experiences of parents whose babies were killed or harmed by Letby.

“You will hear heartbreaking and thoughtful evidence about the experiences of the parents whose babies were named in the indictments,” she says.

“You will hear how their lives have been impacted forever.

“It’s imperative that each of them, through their own written or oral evidence, should be able to tell you what happened from their own unique perspectives.”

She says Part A will focus in part on what parents were told and when, and when they were informed that the Countess of Chester Hospital had concerns about Letby.

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

Langdale has now begun the process of running through the deaths and collapses of the babies who featured on the indictment at Letby’s trial.

She starts with Child A - who died in June 2015.

A reminder to those following this live page - the babies in the case are all anonymous, because of reporting restrictions which are in place to protect the identities of the babies and their families.

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

The room is now hearing from counsel to the inquiry Rachel Langdale KC.

The barrister says the inquiry "will serve the purpose of keeping babies safe in future from a healthcare professional who seeks to do them harm”.

“Those who give evidence do so with the benefit of hindsight – I know that you - my Lady - expect witnesses to tell the truth, no matter how difficult that might be.

"For ordinary, decent, right thinking people the actions of Letby will remain unfathomable. We will not be inviting speculation from witnesses about her motivation or mindset," Langdale says.

Lady Justice Thirlwall tells the hearing that since the Court of Appeal judgment rejecting Letby’s appeal was handed down, there has been a “huge outpouring of comment” from some quarters about the validity of her convictions.

Lady Thirlwall says this has come, as far as she is aware, almost entirely from people who did not attend the trial.

She says that “noise” has caused “enormous additional distress” to the parents of those babies.

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from the inquiry

The rain is teeming down outside Liverpool Town Hall as the Thirlwall Inquiry into the crimes of Lucy Letby begins.

As you might expect, the national media are here in force - both in the main hearing room and in a media annexe, where proceedings are being live-streamed.

Lady Justice Thirlwall, who is chairing the inquiry, is delivering some short opening remarks and will then hand over to counsel to the inquiry Rachel Langdale KC, who will spend today and tomorrow delivering an opening statement.

Lady Justice Thirlwall says: “At the heart of this inquiry are the babies who died and were injured and their parents. I don’t presume to describe the feelings and emotions that those parents have already experience, nor those that lie ahead.”

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

The council chamber is full, with lawyers present for the families of the babies, the Countess of Chester Hospital, the Care Quality Commission and others.

The room stands in silence as the chair, Lady Justice Thirlwall, enters.

Image source, Reuters

The public inquiry examining how the Countess of Chester Hospital handled concerns raised about Lucy Letby and the NHS's handling of the case is due to begin at 10:00.

We have a team of reporters inside the inquiry in Liverpool Town Hall and will bring you live updates and analysis on this page.

It will not be broadcast live in its entirety, but some sections today will be streamed.

Chairwoman Lady Justice Thirlwall prohibited much of it being broadcast over concerns court orders preventing the identification of a number of people involved could be breached.

Judith Moritz
Reporting from the inquiry

Lucy Letby was found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder another seven between June 2015 and June 2016.

She stands convicted as Britain’s most prolific baby killer. Her trial raised questions about the way the Countess of Chester hospital handled consultants concerns about the nurse.

It’ll be for the public inquiry, chaired by Lady Justice Thirlwall to examine that, along with whether there are questions for the wider NHS.

The inquiry will hear from the parents of the babies who Letby was convicted of attacking.

The Thirlwall Inquiry was set up very shortly after Lucy Letby was convicted in August 2023.

Now it’s getting underway at a time when a number of critics are arguing that she may in fact be innocent.

But the inquiry won’t get into the detail of exploring that issue - neither has it been delayed, despite calls for it to be, by a group of experts critical of the trial evidence.

The hearings begin today at Liverpool town hall and are expected to last until at least the end of the year.

Image source, PA Media

This is an exceptionally complex case, here are the key elements to it:

• Lucy Letby was convicted in two separate trials of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill seven others at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016
• At the end of her first trial, Letby was sentenced to 14 whole-life terms, she was given a 15th whole life order in July following a retrial for the attempted murder of Baby K
• The trial ran from October 2022 to August 2023, and the retrial was ordered after a jury was unable to reach a verdict on one count of attempted murder of a baby girl
• The retrial found her guilty of the attacking a new-born infant during a February 2016 night shift at the Countess of Chester hospital
• Letby deliberately injected babies with air, force fed others milk and poisoned two of the infants with insulin
• Dr Stephen Brearey first raised concerns about Letby in October 2015 but said no action was taken and she went on to attack five more babies
• Operation Hummingbird was launched in 2017 by Cheshire Police and Letby was first arrested at her home in Chester in July 2018
• Two separate applications from Letby to appeal against her convictions have been denied

Chairwoman Lady Justice Thirlwall has prohibited the inquiry from being streamed live in full.

Parts of it will be broadcast today, but much of it will not be available for the public to watch.

This is because there are a series of court orders in place, protecting the identity of babies, parents, and witnesses from the trial.

Lawyers representing the families of the victims argued for proceedings to be broadcast, saying it would prevent the spread of "grossly offensive" conspiracy theories.

But the judge, who sits on the Court of Appeal, ruled against it because of the risk of breaching court orders which prevent the identification of a number of people involved, including all of the babies.

"For a parent, who has already suffered so much, to be identified online is unthinkable, " she said.

The inquiry has stated that its key objectives are to “seek answers for the victims’ families and ensure lessons are learned”. But it will also examine the wider circumstances that led to the deaths of the babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

This is a broad look at the kinds of questions the inquiry hopes to answer - but it is by no means an exhaustive list. The terms of reference have more details, external:

A. The experiences of all the parents whose babies were named on the indictment at the criminal trial

• What were the parents of each child told when and by whom about the condition of their baby, what was being done to treat them and what the prognosis was?
• Where parents raised concerns about the condition and/or care of their babies, what was done and what were the parents told?

B: Conduct of those working at the Countess of Chester Hospital, including senior managers and ward staff

• What concerns were raised and when about the conduct of Letby? By whom were they raised? What was done?
• How was Letby managed once concerns were raised about her?

C: Wider NHS

• What concerns are there about the effectiveness of the current culture, governance management structures and processes, regulation and other external scrutiny in keeping babies in hospital safe and ensuring the quality of their care?
• How should accountability of senior managers be strengthened?

Adam Durbin
Live editor

Image source, Reuters

It is the first day of a public inquiry set up after Lucy Letby, a former neonatal nurse, was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill seven others at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

Letby’s trial raised questions about the way managers at the hospital handled concerns that consultants were raising about the nurse, as well the NHS’s handling of the case.

It’ll be for the public inquiry, chaired by Lady Justice Thirlwall to examine that, and whether there are questions for the wider NHS.

We have a team of BBC reporters inside the inquiry who will be bringing you live updates, as well as analysis of key moments from when it begins at 10:00.