Response to Potential New Charges Against Lucy Letby - Enough is Enough!

By Nineteen Nurses

As a collective of current and former NHS healthcare professionals, we, at Nineteen Nurses, feel compelled to address the recent reports of potential new charges against Lucy Letby, the former neonatal nurse convicted in 2023 of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others at the Countess of Chester Hospital. The news of additional allegations, as reported by multiple outlets, including The Mirror and BBC News, comes at a time when significant concerns about the safety of her original convictions remain unresolved. We stand united in urging caution, transparency, and a rigorous re-examination of the evidence in light of these developments.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is reportedly considering further charges against Ms. Letby based on new evidence submitted by Cheshire Police concerning alleged incidents at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women’s Hospital. While the specifics of these potential charges remain undisclosed, their emergence coincides with ongoing investigations into corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter at the Countess of Chester Hospital, where three senior leaders have recently been arrested. These parallel investigations raise critical questions about systemic failures within the hospital that may have contributed to the tragic outcomes for which Ms. Letby has been held solely accountable.

Since Ms. Letby’s conviction, serious doubts have been raised by medical experts, legal professionals, and a large proportion of healthcare workers, including Doctors, nurses, and scientists, about the reliability of the evidence used to secure her 15 whole-life sentences. An international panel of experts, as noted in The Guardian, reviewed medical records and found no evidence of criminality, suggesting that poor medical care or natural causes could explain the infant deaths and collapses.

Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has also called for an urgent re-examination of Letby’s case, citing “serious and credible” concerns. These findings align with our own apprehensions about the potential scapegoating of an individual nurse amidst broader institutional shortcomings.

The timing of these potential new charges, reported shortly after the arrests of hospital leadership, is concerning.

As highlighted by Letby’s barrister, Mark McDonald, the failure of Cheshire Police to directly inform Ms. Letby’s legal team of these developments, allowing her to learn of them through media leaks, undermines the principles of fairness and due process. Such actions risk perpetuating a narrative driven by sensationalism rather than evidence, further eroding trust in the judicial process.

As nurses and healthcare professionals, we are acutely aware of the pressures and complexities of working in under-resourced and high-stakes environments like neonatal units.

The “climate of fear” within the NHS, as described in The Telegraph, and been directly reported to nineteen nurses; this fear has silenced many healthcare professionals who fear retribution for speaking out. We reiterate our call, first made in our open letter to the Prime Minister and then in a press release to unions and professional bodies, to advocate for an independent review of Letby’s convictions.

This is not only about justice for one individual, but about protecting the integrity of our profession and ensuring that systemic failures are not obscured by the targeting of a single nurse.

We do not deny the profound pain of the families affected by these tragedies, and our hearts go out to them. However, justice demands that all evidence be scrutinized rigorously and impartially. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is currently considering an application from Letby’s legal team, and we urge the CPS to proceed with utmost caution in evaluating any new charges. A rush to judgment risks compounding potential miscarriages of justice and further damaging public confidence in the NHS and the legal system.

We call for:

1. Transparency in the handling of any new evidence and charges, with direct communication to Letby’s legal team to avoid prejudicial media leaks.

2. An independent review of the original convictions, incorporating the findings of the international expert panel and addressing concerns about the statistical and circumstantial evidence used at trial.

3. Systemic accountability, ensuring that investigations into hospital leadership and operational failures are pursued with the same vigor as those targeting individual healthcare workers.

4. Support for NHS staff, fostering an environment where nurses and other professionals can raise concerns without fear of being silenced or scapegoated.

5. Vexatious Allegations - Must be dealt with and accusers brought to account.

6. The public Purse -Accountability, how public money is spent, and clear, transparent reasons given.

   Is it in the public interest to spend millions on a new trial when

   Ms. Letby is serving 15 whole-life terms. A new trial will not change the outcome, or is this an academic exercise to bolster previous convictions?

   
   
   
   

   We are deeply saddened by the recent arrests of hospital leadership, but will refrain from further comment on this matter. We urge the CPS to exercise caution and avoid rushing to judgment.

The Lucy Letby case has far-reaching implications for the nursing profession and the NHS as a whole. We, at Nineteen Nurses, stand firm in our commitment to patient safety, truth, justice, and the protection of our colleagues from unfair blame.

We urge all stakeholders—police, prosecutors, healthcare leaders, and the public—to prioritize evidence over assumption and to work toward a resolution that honors the memory of the infants lost while ensuring fairness for all involved.

Signed, Nineteen Nurses

On behalf of current and former NHS healthcare professionals advocating for justice and accountability