Lucy Letby: Thirlwall Inquiry Report into Nurse’s Crimes to be Published
BBC Homepage
Skip to content
Accessibility Help
Your account
Home
News
Sport
Earth
Reel
Worklife
Travel
Culture
Future
Music
TV
Weather
Sounds
More menu
More menu
Search BBC
Home
News
Sport
Earth
Reel
Worklife
Travel
Culture
Future
Music
TV
Weather
Sounds
Lucy Letby public inquiry findings set to be published
Image source: Cheshire Police
Image caption: The inquiry looked into the actions of managers at the hospital where Lucy Letby worked.
By Lauren Hirst
North West
Published 11 minutes ago
The findings from a public inquiry into how Lucy Letby was able to repeatedly murder and harm babies will be published later on Tuesday.
The Thirlwall Inquiry was set up to investigate what happened at the Countess of Chester Hospital between 2015 and 2016, while Letby was working as a nurse in the neonatal unit. Letby, now 36, is serving 15 whole-life prison terms for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others, including one baby whom she tried to murder twice.
The inquiry was not tasked with examining Letby’s guilt. Instead, it focused on how concerns about the neonatal nurse were handled by the hospital and whether action could have been taken sooner to stop her.
The report may answer key questions such as:
- Could any babies have lived or avoided injury if action had been taken earlier?
Letby was moved from the neonatal unit to administrative duties in July 2016 after consultants expressed concerns to the hospital’s executive team. However, the inquiry has examined whether alarm bells should have started ringing earlier, for example in June 2015, after three babies died in quick succession.
The inquiry, led by Lady Justice Thirlwall, involved six months of evidence and thousands of documents at a cost of over £18.5m.
It is expected to find significant safeguarding failures and recommend changes across the NHS.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) – the only organisation with the power to send Letby’s case back to the Court of Appeal – has stated it will be paying close attention to the report.
Letby has previously been denied permission to appeal against her convictions on two occasions. Her defence lawyer, Mark McDonald, has submitted "nearly 30 expert reports to the CCRC really undermining the whole safety of the convictions" and claims it is "more evidence" than "any other case" in the CCRC’s history.
McDonald also stated that he fundamentally disagrees with the departure of two experts from his team, who withdrew claiming inconsistent evidence. He insisted, however, that these experts still believe Letby is innocent.
The inquiry began in September 2024 and concluded with the evidence and submissions phase in March 2025. The findings were initially scheduled for November 2025 but have been delayed several times.
Its key objectives were to seek answers for the victims’ families and ensure lessons are learned.
