Newspaper headlines: Lucy Letby's 'final act of wickedness'

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By BBC News
Staff

"Calculating, cunning, cruel, cowardly" headlines the Metro as it carries some of the words used to describe serial killer nurse Lucy Letby at her sentence hearing, where she was handed down a whole life order - meaning she will spend the rest of her life in prison. One mother, who lost one baby to Letby and whose other baby the neonatal nurse attempted to murder, described her as a "coward" for failing to attend the sentencing hearing. Elsewhere, the paper covers Manchester United parting ways with footballer Mason Greenwood after a "backlash forces" him out. He was previously charged with attempted rape and assault but the charges were later dropped.

The mugshot of Letby features on the Daily Express front cover too. The paper focuses on the most prolific child serial killer in modern British history parting with "one final act of wickedness" by not attending her hearing. The Express says she "refused to attend court and face her victims' distraught parents".

The i similarly reports on demands for government to force convicts to attend their sentencing hearing and "listen to devastation of victims". Ministers, it says, are under pressure to order a full statutory inquiry, which can compel witnesses to attend, rather than progress with the announced non-statutory inquiry.

The Guardian features a smiling picture of Letby at Countess of Chester Hospital. It observes she has become of one of only a handful of women to be handed a whole-life jail term following her conviction for murdering seven babies and trying to kill another six. Meanwhile, England goalkeeper Mary Earps features on the front. The paper reports fans are using DIY methods to have the name of the Golden Glove award winner on their shirts, after Nike decided not to produce a replica England goalkeeper shirt.

"One final act of wickedness" headlines the Daily Mirror as it focuses on the "fury at her refusal to appear for sentencing". Elsewhere, "heroes return" as a the Lionesses fly home from their Women's World Cup Final, which they lost to Spain.

The Daily Mail describes a "pitiless stare" as it splashes on a mugshot of Letby. It leads on the words of grieving Child D's mother who said in a victim impact statement: "Those lives were not yours to take... there is no forgiving, not now, not ever."

The Sun also splashes on Letby's custody shot as it too headlines on her "final act of wickedness". It quotes Mr Justice Goss saying there was a "malevolence bordering on sadism" in Letby's actions.

The Times uses another picture of Letby, this time smiling with a drink in hand. According to the paper, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk says the government wants to change the law "at the earliest opportunity" to force "the worst offenders to attend court to face justice".

A smiling Letby with baby in hand features on the front of the Daily Telegraph. The paper describes the victim impact statements by the parents as "nothing short of heart-breaking". The Daily Telegraph also runs a story on Sir Keir Starmer claiming he could not afford to go to university if he was 18 now. It observes his comments suggest the party could soon announce policies to help students with rising rents, if Labour wins the general election.

BBC Sport

The Financial Times leads with bosses of top companies being given a 16% pay rise on average last year "catapulting" their earnings to 118 times that of the median UK worker. The paper reports FTSE 100 bosses were paid a median £3.91m each - a £530,000 rise on the previous year, according to the High Pay Centre think tank.

"There's a big row brewing," says the Daily Star as it reports Britons see the traditional cup of tea as being seen as "outdated" and most prefer coffee.