Lucy Letby: Families’ lawyers cast doubt on panel’s findings that questioned convictions

Lawyers for families whose babies the nurse Lucy Letby was convicted of killing or assaulting have cast doubt on the findings by an international panel of experts which appear to exonerate her.1

The 14 strong panel revealed its conclusion that the deaths were attributable to natural causes or poor medical care at the Countess of Chester Hospital, where Letby worked, at a press conference organised by her barrister, Mark McDonald, last month.2 Letby is serving 15 life terms after being convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others between June 2015 and June 2016.3 McDonald is asking the Criminal Cases Review Commission to send the case back to the Court of Appeal, after Letby’s previous attempts were turned down.

In written submissions to the Thirlwall inquiry, the legal team representing several babies’ families, headed by Richard Baker KC, noted that the panel, assembled by the retired Canadian neonatologist Shoo Lee, were asked to carry out case note reviews of individual cases and decide if the records disclosed alternative causes of death. Each case was reviewed by two experts.

“It is not suggested that …