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The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- General
- The Herald Scotland
Tributes to countess who modernised royal Scottish castle
Died: April 28, 2025 The Countess of Strathmore, who has died aged 92, was, with her husband, responsible for transforming the historic Glamis Castle in Angus into one of Scotland's leading tourist attractions. They also cannily changed it into a home for their own family. Glamis has been part of Scottish history for 650 years but more recently it was the childhood home of the Queen Mother and the birthplace of Princess Margaret. The Countess admitted to being daunted at the prospect of living in Glamis but with typical resolve she said, 'On we go.' Mary Pamela McCorquodale was born at her grandparents' house in London. Her father was Brigadier Norman McCorquodale, of the McCorquodale printing family; her mother was Barbara, née de Knoop. She was brought up at Winslow Hall in Buckinghamshire which was requisitioned by the RAF. After the war she spent time in Paris learning the language and on a visit to Germany in 1955 she met Fergus Bowes-Lyon and they married the following year. They had a house on the Glamis estate and Fergus worked in an Edinburgh stockbroker's office. The prospect of inheriting the title was remote. The title had passed to the Queen Mother's eldest brother Patrick, who became the 15th Earl, and then to his son Timothy who died unexpectedly in 1972. Thus, Fergus became the 17th Earl. Moving to Glamis was something of a mixed blessing as the family had settled happily in East Lothian. The geography of the castle made family life difficult – there was no division between the domestic and public areas and the kitchen was far away. They engaged the distinguished architect James Dunbar-Naismith who reconstructed the interior to be homely and modern: not least the kitchen was now close to the dining room and the old boiler room became their front hall. It took three years but it proved a wise decision and the family were glad when it was over and they moved in over Easter 1975. Read more The next challenge was to make Glamis a more welcoming attraction to the public. The castle had been open to the public since 1950 but needed much improvement. Consultants were employed but the wisest advice the Countess received was from a long-standing member of the staff, the redoubtable Bert Tosh. He simply told Lady Strathmore, 'I don't know about all those statistics but what I do know is that the public wants tea and toilets, and in that order!' The public area and the gardens were transformed and the castle became a joy to visit. Historic items were attractively exhibited as were the more modern; for example the bridesmaids' dresses and broaches that the future George VI had given to them when he married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. The Countess was a leading figure in the community and served on many committees such as the Tayside Space School where she met the astronaut, Colonel Jim Reilly. He was later married at Glamis and presented the chapel with a Celtic cross made out of metal that had been to outer space. Glamis Castle (Image: Newsquest) She was a regular supporter of the Scottish Episcopal Church in Forfar and a pillar of the county of Angus serving on many Scottish and local charities including the MS Society, Age Concern, Tayside Symphony Orchestra and the National Theatre of Scotland. She took particular pleasure in 2002 in her honorary Doctor of Laws from Dundee University. In 2022 the Countess told of a visit to Glamis of the late Queen on what was to be her final visit. 'I had her on my golf buggy for around an hour and a half and we went around the castle grounds.' She is survived by her two daughters. Her son, the 18th Earl of Strathmore, died in 2016. ALASDAIR STEVEN
The Irish Sun
5 days ago
- The Irish Sun
I was sure Lucy Letby was guilty… then spent weeks poring over evidence & now I'm convinced NO babies were murdered
SHE'S Britain's most prolific child killer, serving 15 whole life orders for the sickening murders of seven innocent babies and attempting to kill seven others. And last week it emerged Advertisement 8 Killer nurse Lucy Letby could face even more charges but some question her guilt Credit: pixel8000 8 Sun man Oliver Harvey thinks Letby has been let down by the legal system Credit: Peter Jordan Letby, 35, is understood to have carried out two work placements at Liverpool Women's Hospital - where she trained as a student - between October and December 2012, and January and February 2015. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it had received "a full file of evidence from Cheshire Constabulary asking us to consider further allegations in relation to deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women's Hospital". It comes after three people - who were in senior leadership roles at the Countess of Chester Hospital - as part of an investigation into the . Advertisement But while evidence continues to stack up against her, there are also a growing number of people - including some prominent politicians - who have publicly expressed doubts over her guilt. Yesterday we told how journalist Nigel Bunyan, who attended Lucy Letby's main trial and the retrial that followed it, is convinced justice was served because Letby is " a nailed-on serial killer of tiny, defenceless babies ". But The Sun's Chief Features Writer Oliver Harvey is in the opposite camp, concerned "an innocent young woman has been jailed in one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in British legal history". Here he puts forward his argument for why he's convinced Lucy Letby is not guilty of her harrowing crimes, and why a fresh appeal is needed immediately. STARING at Lucy Letby's washed out mugshot on the day of her conviction, I believed she was a wicked baby killer. Advertisement Justice was done, I assumed, so let this monster rot in hell. Hadn't the 'Angel of Death' even admitted her own guilt in scrawled notes? Months later, after being commissioned to write an Top doc whose work was used to nail Letby reveals why he KNOWS she's innocent Much of it involves complex medical and statistical information. It required strong coffee, a string of late nights and expert advice. Now, I believe an innocent young woman has been jailed in one of the greatest And, in my view, no babies were murdered or harmed at the Countess of Chester Hospital. Advertisement Last week prosecutors revealed they were Cheshire Police have been investigating further 'deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies'. 8 Staring at Lucy Letby's washed out mugshot on the day of her conviction, Oliver believed she was a wicked baby killer Credit: PA 8 The writer has since changed his mind after being commissioned to write an article about Letby 'truthers' Credit: PA So why do I believe Letby - already caged for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others - has been wrongfully convicted? Advertisement And could two jury trials and two Appeal Court hearings really have misread things so badly? A solemn truth is that English justice - long admired across the world - sometimes gets it wrong. After nearly 30 years working in Fleet Street, including reporting for a news agency at the I saw the After nearly 30 years working in Fleet Street, including reporting for a news agency at the Old Bailey and the High Court, I've witnessed my share of wrongful convictions firsthand Oliver Harvey Wrongly convicted for murdering 13-year-old paperboy Carl Bridgewater, James spoke of the 'long, lonely years that we've cried and wept' as 'people have looked at us with hate' and 'called us child-killers'. Advertisement Words delivered with such raw emotion stay with you. Then there was During her 18-months incarceration I got to know her salt-of-the-earth husband Terry. Visiting him at home in Salisbury, "After she was jailed I just sobbed and sobbed on my sofa.' Advertisement Angela's conviction was overturned by the Appeal Court in 2003 after it emerged medical evidence against her was flawed and that her babies had actually perished from 8 Angela Cannings was wrongly convicted of killing her children and freed by the court of appeal Credit: Reuters 8 The Bridgewater Three were wrong convicted of murder Credit: PA:Press Association It's a pertinent example of how police, prosecutors and juries can get it wrong when dealing with complex medical issues. I believe evidence used to convict Letby was also catastrophically flawed and doesn't stand up to scrutiny. Advertisement A central plank of the prosecution case - placed before the jury at the beginning of Letby's first 10-month trial - was an apparently damning shift rota. The chart showed a cluster of 25 suspicious baby deaths and collapses matched against the shift rota of the 38 nurses who worked on the unit. Only Letby was at the scene for every death and collapse. Yet the jury wasn't told about six other baby deaths in the period for which she faced no charges. Statisticians also say the chart covers far too narrow a period of time. Advertisement Professor Richard Gill, whose expertise is medical statistics, told me the spreadsheet was 'ludicrous' and that he believes Letby is innocent. Fatal flaws 8 MP David Davis has come out in support of Letby as has retired medic Dr Shoo Lee Credit: Ben Whitley/PA Wire 8 Dr Dewi testified that Letby had injected insulian or air into bloodstreams or feeding tubes Credit: PA When a case has been built around what the professor says are flawed statistics, then I believe the whole evidential edifice starts to crumble. So what about the science? Advertisement Expert witness A string of respected neonatologists called Dr Evans's theory that Letby injected air into babies via their nasal feeding tubes as 'implausible' and 'ridiculous'. Dr Evans had cited a 1989 academic paper which said skin discolourations occur with air bubbles in blood vessels, and he believed this was evident in several of the babies. But the paper's co-author, Dr Shoo Lee says none of the descriptions of the babies' skin blemishes given by witnesses matched those that he had noted. In February, Dr Lee chaired a panel of 14 leading international experts who had examined 17 cases at the heart of Letby's prosecution. Advertisement Their conclusion? "We did not find any murders. In all cases, death or injury were due to natural causes or just bad medical care," he revealed. Remember Letby - who has always pleaded her innocence - was never seen injecting a baby or harming them in any way. That Letby's case is likely to rumble on for years is heartbreaking for the bereaved families Oliver Harvey Police found no internet searches for her alleged murder techniques while no motive or psychological profile of a serial killer was ever presented to the court. And Letby's Advertisement The ramblings also included: 'WHY ME? I haven't done anything wrong.' They were written as part of her therapy after she was removed from her nursing duties following a cluster of baby deaths. Used as a 'gotcha' moment at her first trial, the 'I'm evil I did this' sentiment may simply have been her insecurity at so many babies dying on her ward. Letby also kept 257 confidential shift handover sheets from the ward under her bed. Twenty-one of the documents related to 13 children prosecutors said she had harmed. Campaigner and former Cabinet Minister David Davis told me: 'If you didn't know that she was accused of murder, you'd just think she was being excessively conscientious.' Advertisement Revelations that she searched bereaved families on Facebook perhaps shows she was concerned for those grieving. It certainly doesn't amount to evidence she was a baby killer. UK's most prolific child killer Lucy Letby The All about Lucy Letby's Inside her interview with Lucy Letby's How Lucy Letby went Killer nurse The Countess of Chester - which treated critically ill and very premature babies clinging to life - was plagued by staff shortages and a superbug, while a leading medic described its neonatal unit as 'out of its depth'. With so many clustered baby deaths, I believe blame was subconsciously shifted to a convenient scapegoat - the young, female, guileless nurse Lucy Letby. The prospect of fresh charges and a trial may actually work in her favour. A better marshalled defence could call on a wealth of expert witnesses deployed to debunk bad science and iffy statistics. Advertisement That Letby's case is likely to rumble on for years is heartbreaking for the bereaved families. A fresh appeal is needed immediately. The threshold for criminal conviction - being beyond reasonable doubt - hasn't, in my opinion, been close to being reached. Justice may be blind, but it is not infallible.
New York Post
01-07-2025
- New York Post
Hospital managers arrested in Lucy Letby probe after nurse convicted of killing 7 babies, attempting to murder 8 more
British police said on Tuesday they had arrested three senior hospital managers on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter as part of investigations into nurse Lucy Letby, who was convicted two years ago of killing babies in a neonatal unit. Letby, 35, is serving life in jail after being found guilty of murdering seven newborns and attempting to murder eight more between June 2015 and June 2016 while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital (CoCH) in northern England. 5 Letby, 35, is serving life in jail after being found guilty of murdering seven newborns and attempting to murder eight more. Getty Images Advertisement Letby, Britain's worst serial child killer of modern times, has maintained her innocence throughout but has been refused permission to appeal against her convictions. She has been told she would never be released. Following her jailing, police began to investigate possible corporate manslaughter offences at the hospital, an inquiry that was later widened to consider if individuals might be guilty of gross negligence manslaughter. 5 Letby has maintained her innocence throughout but has been refused permission to appeal against her convictions. Cheshire Police/MEGA Advertisement Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes, who is leading the investigation, said three unnamed members of the hospital's senior leadership team had been arrested on Monday. They were subsequently released on bail, pending further inquires. 'Both the corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter elements of the investigation are continuing and there are no set time scales for these,' Hughes said in a statement, adding that this did not impact Letby's convictions. Challenge to evidence 5 Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes said three unnamed members of the hospital's senior leadership team had been arrested on Monday. Getty Images Hughes said that a police investigation was continuing into whether Letby had committed more crimes at the hospital and at another unit where she had previously worked. Advertisement Since she was jailed, some lawmakers, medical experts and other specialists have publicly challenged the prosecution evidence that was used to find her guilty. The Criminal Cases Review Commission, which examines potential miscarriages of justice, is considering an application from Letby's legal team, and last month, former health minister Jeremy Hunt said the case should be urgently re-examined. 5 Since she was jailed, some lawmakers and medical experts have publicly challenged the prosecution evidence that was used to find her guilty. Letby's lawyer Mark McDonald said in a statement that the police announcement came at a sensitive time. Advertisement 'Despite this, the concerns many have raised will not go away, and we will continue to publicly discuss them,' McDonald said. 5 Letby's lawyer Mark McDonald said in a statement that the police announcement came at a sensitive time. SWNS Kate Blackwell, a lawyer for the hospital's senior managers, told a public inquiry examining how the murders were able to take place that there were other explanations for the deaths which needed to be considered. The managers strongly denied accusations they 'deliberately and knowingly' protected a murderer, Blackwell said. Police have previously said skepticism about the case was based on partial knowledge of the facts presented to the courts. The findings of the public inquiry are due to be published early next year after the chairman rejected calls for her work to be paused.
Daily Record
01-07-2025
- Daily Record
Three ex-senior leaders at hospital where Lucy Letby killed seven babies are arrested
Lucy Letby was found guilty of murdering seven children and attempting to murder seven more. Three former senior leaders at a hospital where Lucy Letby worked have been arrested in connection with alleged manslaughter. The three were members of then senior leadership team at the Countess of Chester Hospital in 20015 and 2016 but have not been named. They were arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. It comes after Letby, 35, was found guilty of murdering seven children as well as attempting to murder seven more between June 2015 and June 2016. She had been working at the neonatal unit at the hospital at the time, reports the Mirror. All three ex-members of the senior leadership team who were arrested have been bailed. Letby was made the UK's worst serial killer in modern times after carrying out the killings at the hospital. Following Letby's conviction, police started investigating any possible corporate manslaughter offences at the hospital. An inquiry was later widened to find if anyone was guilty of gross negligence manslaughter. Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes, Senior Investigating Officer for Operation Duet said: "In October 2023 following the lengthy trial and subsequent conviction of Lucy Letby, Cheshire Constabulary launched an investigation into corporate manslaughter at the Countess of Chester Hospital. 'This focuses on senior leadership and their decision making to determine whether any criminality has taken place concerning the response to the increased levels of fatalities. 'In March 2025 the scope of the investigation widened to also include gross negligence manslaughter. This is a separate offence to corporate manslaughter and focuses on the grossly negligent action or inaction of individuals. 'It is important to note that this does not impact on the convictions of Lucy Letby for multiple offences of murder and attempted murder. As part of our ongoing enquiries, on Monday 30th June three individuals who were part of the senior leadership team at the CoCH in 2015-2016, were arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. 'All three have subsequently been bailed pending further enquiries. 'Both the corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter elements of the investigation are continuing and there are no set timescales for these. 'Our investigation into the deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the neo-natal units of both the Countess of Chester Hospital and the Liverpool Women's Hospital between the period of 2012 to 2016 is also ongoing.' The guilty verdict of Letby has sparked several medical experts to release a report claiming she committed no criminal offences. These claims have been argued against by other medical professionals as well as families of the victims. Letby is now being held at HMP Bronzefield, in ashford, Surrey. The prison is an adult and young offender female prison. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
Straits Times
01-07-2025
- Straits Times
Three bosses at killer nurse Lucy Letby's hospital arrested by UK police
FILE PHOTO: Former British nurse and convicted child serial killer Lucy Letby appears by video link during an appeal against her conviction for trying to murder a newborn baby, at the Court of Appeal in London, Britain, October 24, 2024, in this courtroom sketch. Courtesy of Julia Quenzler/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo LONDON - Three senior managers from the hospital where nurse Lucy Letby was convicted of murdering babies worked, have been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter, British police said on Tuesday. Letby, 35, is serving life in jail after being found guilty of murdering seven newborns and attempting to murder eight more between June 2015 and June 2016 while working in the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital (CoCH) in northern England. The nurse, Britain's worst serial child killer of modern times, has maintained her innocence throughout but has been refused permission to appeal against her convictions. She has been told she will never be released. Following her jailing, police began to investigate possible corporate manslaughter offences at the hospital, an inquiry that was later widened to consider if individuals might be guilty of gross negligence manslaughter. Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes, who is leading the investigation, said three unnamed members of the hospital's senior leadership team had been arrested on Monday. They have subsequently been released on police bail pending further inquires. "Both the corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter elements of the investigation are continuing and there are no set timescales for these," Hughes said in a statement. He added that the police investigation into whether Letby had committed more crimes at the hospital and at another unit where she had previously worked was ongoing. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
