Thirlwall Inquiry: speculation has caused parents distress

Letby is currently serving multiple whole-life prison sentences for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of seven others at the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neonatal unit between 2015 and 2016.

“All of this noise has caused enormous additional distress to parents who have already suffered far too much”

Lady Justice Thirlwall

The Thirlwall Inquiry commenced today and will examine how Letby was able to murder and harm babies at the unit over this period.

Lady Thirlwall, who is leading the inquiry, kickstarted the first day by addressing the ongoing speculation about Letby’s convictions.

It comes as there have been an increasing number of concerns raised by the media, experts and the public in recent months about the evidence used against Letby.

Lady Thirlwall noted that there had been an “outpouring of comment” on the validity of Letby’s conviction, mostly by “people who were not at the trial”.

She said: “All of this noise has caused enormous additional distress to parents who have already suffered far too much.”

Lady Thirlwall noted that it was not for her, as chair of the public inquiry, “to set about reviewing convictions”.

“The court of appeal has done that with a very clear result,” she added.

Since her first trial ended, Letby has failed in two attempts to appeal her convictions and has also been convicted by a different jury of an additional attempted murder charge.

Lady Thirlwall called the appeals’ judgment a “watershed” moment for the parents of the victims and that “they could now turn attention to this inquiry”.

“It is time to get on with this inquiry,” she added.

Rachel Langdale KC, counsel to the inquiry, is today delivering her opening statements relating to the babies harmed or murdered by Letby.

She too noted that the inquiry could not examine or question Letby’s conviction and would instead look at the response at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

Ms Langdale said: “We will consider whether Letby’s crimes could have been prevented and whether she should have been removed from the unit sooner.

“The inquiry’s unwavering focus will not be examining the conviction but what the responses were at the time – what people knew or should have known.”

“History tells us that medical serial killers are deceptive, manipulative and skilled at hiding in plain sight”

Rachel Langdale

She called on the inquiry to “take into account all of the evidence” and to consider each piece of evidence in the context of all other evidence.

In addition, she warned that evidence in this case should never be “compartmentalised or examined in isolation”.

“Those who do this will be less likely to see the picture as a whole, and if they do not see the picture as a whole, they may reach conclusions that are not only wrong but are speculative and damaging,” said Ms Langdale.

She added: “History tells us that medical serial killers are deceptive, manipulative and skilled at hiding in plain sight.

“For ordinary, decent, right-thinking people, the actions of Letby will remain unfathomable.”

This first week of the inquiry is focused on hearing the opening statements from the counsel to the inquiry and then from the legal representatives of the core participants.

Lady Thirlwall will publish the findings and recommendations from the inquiry publicly.

She noted that the report would be published by late autumn in 2025.