London, Feb 4 (PTI) Nurse Lucy Letby, who hit worldwide headlines after being sentenced to a whole-life sentence by a UK court for killing seven babies and attempting to murder at least six others, was back in the news on Tuesday as a panel of medical experts strongly challenged her conviction.
An analysis conducted by a committee of 14 neonatologists specialising in the care of new-born babies, including Indian-origin Professor Neena Modi, was revealed at a press conference in London.
The experts indicated that there were “very plausible reasons for the deaths of these babies".
"There was a combination of babies being in the wrong place, delayed diagnosis and inappropriate treatment," said Modi, Professor of Neonatal Medicine at Imperial College London.
The panel’s report is expected to form the basis of submissions to the UK’s Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) after Letby's lawyers applied for her case to be investigated as a potential miscarriage of justice.
"In our opinion, the medical opinion, the medical evidence doesn’t support murder in any of these babies – just natural causes and bad medical care," said Dr Shoo Lee, a Canadian neonatal care expert who chaired the panel.
Dr Lee had co-authored a 1989 academic paper on air embolism in babies which featured prominently in the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) case during the 10-month trial which concluded in August 2023.
Letby, now 35, was found guilty of murder at the Countess of Chester's neonatal unit between June 2015 and June 2016.
“There is overwhelming evidence that the conviction is unsafe. And if Dr Shoo Lee and the panel are correct, no crime was committed. And if no crime was committed, that means a 34-year-old woman is currently sitting in prison for the rest of her life for a crime that just never happened,” said Mark McDonald, Letby’s barrister.
The nurse had subsequently lost two attempts last year to challenge her convictions at the Court of Appeal. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), an independent body which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, confirmed receiving her latest application.
"We have received a preliminary application in relation to Ms Letby's case, and work has begun to assess the application. We anticipate further submissions being made to us,” a spokesperson said.
"It is not for the CCRC to determine innocence or guilt in a case, that's a matter for the courts," the spokesperson added.
The commission is charged with investigating any new evidence and then referring the case back to the appeal court if it finds any concerns of miscarriage of justice.
Opposition Conservative Party MP David Davis has been leading a campaign in the matter and described Letby's case at Tuesday's press conference as a "major injustice" and promised to "put it right".
Meanwhile, a public inquiry led by Justice Kathryn Thirlwall into how Lucy Letby – who has denied murder – was able to commit the crimes began hearing evidence in September 2024, with the findings expected to be published later this year.
Police officers from Cheshire Constabulary are continuing their review of the care of some 4,000 babies admitted to hospital while Letby worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital as a neonatal nurse.
An Indian-origin consultant paediatrician, Dr Ravi Jayaram, was among those who spoke out about the alarms he and his colleagues had raised at the Countess of Chester Hospital – where the nurse committed the crimes between 2015 and 2016 at its neonatal unit.
“I do genuinely believe that there are four or five babies who could be going to school now who aren't," Dr Jayaram said after the verdict back in 2023. PTI AK SCY SCY