Killer nurse Lucy Letby found unfit to practise and struck off register

The panel was told it was "a matter of legal fact" that Letby was convicted of seven counts of murder and six of attempted murder

Child serial killer Lucy Letby has been struck off the nursing register at a hearing which was told she maintains her innocence over her convictions.

Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies and trying to murder six others.

A Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) fitness to practise panel heard she would not "resist" being struck off, but did not accept she was "guilty of any of the allegations".

The panel found her unfit to practise and removed her from the register.

Letby, who committed her crimes while working as a neonatal nurse at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016, was sentenced to a whole-life order for each of her offences.

The NMC's representative Christopher Scott told the three members of a fitness to practise panel in east London that the charges brought by the body against Letby reflected her criminal convictions.

He said it was "a matter of legal fact" that she was convicted of seven counts of murder and six of attempted murder and the NMC had brought 14 charges against her.

'So egregious'

The panel, which chose to proceed in Letby's absence, was told she had been asked in a "tick-box exercise" if she accepted the NMC charges.

She ticked "yes" to each of the charges, but added: "I do not wish to take part or be present at the hearing."

"I do not resist the application to strike me off the nursing register," she stated.

"I accept the fact of the convictions.

"However, I do not accept that I am guilty of any of the allegations."

The panel was told she also stated that she maintained her "innocence in respect of all of the convictions", adding: "These convictions are now the subject of an appeal."

Mr Scott said the harm that Letby caused was "so egregious, the lack of insight and remorse that she demonstrated so striking, that the finding of impairment is necessary".

He added that her convictions were so serious that they cannot be remediated and that a failure to find her unfit to practise "would invoke a crisis in public confidence".

Panel chairman Bernard Herdan said they were satisfied that Letby caused harm to patients, brought the profession into disrepute and breached fundamental tenets of the profession.

He said there were no mitigating factors to consider and Letby was a convicted murderer who had shown no remorse.

They found the fact of her convictions was proven and her fitness to practise was impaired and as such, she was removed from the nursing register.

Letby, originally of Hereford, is due to face a retrial over one count of attempted murder in June 2024.

'Strict legislation'

Speaking after the hearing, the NMC's chief executive and registrar Andrea Sutcliffe said the body's "thoughts and sympathies... remain with the parents, families and children whose lives have been so terribly impacted by Lucy Letby's heinous and heartbreaking crimes".

She said the NMC had "moved forward" with fitness to practise proceedings "as quickly as possible" following Letby's conviction.

She added that the striking off order against Letby would "take effect in January [and] in the meantime, she remains under interim suspension from the register".

An NMC representative said its regulatory processes were "guided by strict legislation, which sets out a process we must follow before we can impose a sanction".

They said that includes "certain notice periods we need to allow for" and the council had "followed this process as quickly as possible" in respect of Letby's case.

They said Letby would now be sent a letter "confirming the panel's decision", after which she would have 28 days to appeal.

"If no appeal is received, the strike-off will take effect," they added.

Analysis

Judith Moritz, North of England Correspondent

Given the gravity of her offences, and the fact she will never leave prison, Lucy Letby's barring from the nursing profession may have seemed like a foregone conclusion.

But the NMC's fitness to practice panel allotted two days for the hearing to determine her professional future.

In the event, the formalities have moved along quickly and having refused to appear at her crown court sentencing, it was hardly a surprise that Letby also declined to appear at the NMC.

Instead, she filled out the paperwork from her prison cell, accepting the proposal to strike her off the nursing register.

She then added the first comments she has made anywhere about her case - writing that she does not accept her guilt, maintains her innocence, and is appealing against her convictions.

Clearly, her focus is on the Court of Appeal, which is still considering her case.

She will also have to prepare for the retrial on one charge of attempted murder which is expected in June.

This is not the last we will hear about Lucy Letby.