Publication date of final Lucy Letby inquiry report pushed back to early 2026
A public inquiry's final report into how former nurse Lucy Letby was able to commit her crimes will now be published early next year.
Letby, 35, was found guilty of murdering seven children and attempting to murder seven more between June 2015 and June 2016 while working in the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital in Chester.
She is serving 15 whole-life orders after she was convicted at Manchester Crown Court.
Letby is Britain's most prolific serial child killer of modern times and her case prompted the government to order an inquiry into how the killings went undetected.
The inquiry is also examining the hospital's response to concerns raised about Letby before her arrest.
The report was previously expected to be released this November.
A statement published on Thursday on the inquiry's website said it has written to "core participants" with an update on the progress of the final report.
Lady Justice Thirlwall, the chair of the inquiry, is now expected to send out "warning letters" from September 2025, with the final report published in early 2026.
Warning letters are sent ahead of an inquiry being published to anyone "who may be subject to significant or explicit criticism in an inquiry report", according to the website.
"This must be done in advance of the inquiry's report being published and allow a reasonable opportunity to respond," it said.
Prominent figures like senior Conservative MP David Davis have called for a retrial in Letby's case, saying her conviction was "built on a poor understanding of probabilities" and lacked "hard evidence".
In February, an international panel of neonatologists and paediatric specialists told reporters that poor medical care and natural causes were the reasons for the collapses and deaths.
Their evidence has been passed to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, and Letby's legal team hopes her case will be referred back to the Court of Appeal.
In March, Letby asked for the Thirlwall Inquiry to be suspended while she attempted to appeal her case but that request was denied.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
10 minutes ago
- BBC News
Bristol nurse wins award for helping woman with depression
A woman who supported a patient suffering from depression has received an award for helping her BBC Radio 4 programme All in the Mind has given awards to people who have helped others with their mental health. One of the winners was Caroline White, who supported her patient Katrina Curtis through treatment for depression at Callington Hospital in Bristol."Caroline was a rock during my illness and I trust her implicitly. She is everything I would want in a professional and her unit are lucky to have her. In my opinion, she embodies all of the NHS values," Ms Curtis said. Ms Curtis, who is a consultant at the Bristol Royal Infirmary, was ill with depression and had to leave work for a year."Despite having medication and psychological help and all the lifestyle measures, I just couldnt get better," Ms Curtis she was referred to receive electroconvulsive therapy at Callington Hospital, where Ms White is the head nurse."I was pretty unsure about it. But Caroline helped me each step of the way. For me, it made a massive difference," Ms Curtis told BBC West."She was extremely caring and kind throughout my illness. She also provided many small acts of kindness such as cups of tea. Caroline never made me feel like I was a bother or problem, quite the opposite."Within months of starting the treatment, I was back at work. It was a huge improvement and made a massive difference."Ms White added: "It's about trying to gain a rapport with the person and understand how they might be feeling about coming for treatment that might be a bit frightening."
BBC News
11 minutes ago
- BBC News
Weekly support hubs launched across Surrey
A new network of community hubs has been launched across Surrey in an effort to connect residents with a range of support can access mental health support, financial support and perinatal support at the five are based in Chertsey, Woking, Englefield Green, Godalming and Guildford once a week.A spokesperson for the project said: "These hubs will help individuals navigate local services and foster connections with the community." At each hub, the health support will be run by Catalyst Support, the financial support by Citizens Advice and the perinatal support by service will be available at:Guildford: Guildford Family Centre, Hazel Avenue, on Mondays from 12:30 to 14:30 BSTEnglefield Green: The Village Centre, Victoria Street, on Tuesdays from 10:00 to 12:00Chertsey: Revive Coffee Shop, in Guildford Street, on Wednesdays from 10:00 to 12:00Woking: St Andrew's Church, Goldsworth Park, on Thursdays from 10:00 to 12:00Godalming: Ockford & Aarons Hill Hub, Ock Way, on Fridays from 09:30 to 11:30Lisa Littlewood, service manager at Catalyst Support, said: "We're excited to launch these hubs as safe, accessible spaces where anyone can walk in and get the support they need."Whether it's a one-off conversation or ongoing help, the hubs are here to listen, guide and connect."The hubs are free to attend and no booking or referral required.
BBC News
11 minutes ago
- BBC News
Man with skin cancer urges Guernsey residents to wear sun cream
An islander diagnosed with malignant skin cancer has urged Guernsey residents to wear sun Thompson found out he had melanoma which had spread to his lymph nodes almost three years said he was told his five-year chance of survival was "about two-thirds" which was "a very sobering, make-you-sit-up-and-notice statistic".In 2024, the number of people diagnosed with skin cancer in Guernsey hit the highest level in five years. States figures showed rates of skin cancer on the island were significantly higher than those in England. Diane Mathews, strategic screening lead at Public Health Guernsey, said skin cancer rates on the island were about 89% higher than the south-west of England. She put it down to islanders "not taking enough care in the sun" and the outdoor lifestyle people often led."We need to make [sun protection] more culturally acceptable and habit-forming," she added. Figures 'very concerning' A wellbeing survey conducted by the States every five years found that in 2023, 45.5% of respondents had one or more episodes of sunburn in the last year, up from 44.2% in 17.7% had not heard of any of the signs of skin cancer - an increase of more than 5% on 2018 - the survey found 93.5% of people did routinely use at least one of the sun protection measures the survey Mathews said the figures overall were "very concerning". "It's the exact combination you don't want to see - we've got increasing skin cancer figures at the same time as people doing less sun-safe behaviours." 'Prevention over cure' Mr Thompson, who swims outdoors all year round, has called for a skin cancer support group to be set up on the island, as well as the introduction of sun cream dispensers. "I wear factor 50 sun cream every day and I always wear long sleeves to cover up," he urged others to "take those precautions... as there isn't always a cure".BBC Guernsey has launched a Sun Safety Campaign about early detection and prevention of skin cancers, and will speak to experts about the importance of sun safety over the summer months.
