The police department that investigated the Lucy Letby case has dismissed scrutiny and criticism from those questioning her convictions as mostly “ill-informed”.
Cheshire Constabulary has insisted that the former neonatal nurse’s case was “rigorously and fairly” tested by two juries, as well as two sets of appeal court judges.
“Our priority is to maintain the integrity of our ongoing investigations and to continue to support the many families who are affected by this”
Paul Hughes
It said it would not enter the “widespread public debate” surrounding the case.
The intervention comes as Letby’s barrister, Mark McDonald, was reportedly due to hand over evidence today to support Letby’s application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates potential miscarriages of justice.
Letby, 35, was convicted in August 2023 of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit between 2015 and 2016.
She was then found guilty after a retrial in June 2024 of attempting to murder a seventh baby.
Letby is currently serving multiple life sentences for these crimes and has made unsuccessful attempts to appeal.
Her legal team has now asked the CCRC to review Letby’s case, and Mr McDonald was expected to travel to its offices today to submit the full findings of a report by an international expert panel that disputes Letby’s guilt.
The report, published in February by a panel of 14 international paediatric and neonatal experts, concluded there was “no medical evidence to support malfeasance” in any of the cases heard at Letby’s trial.
It is understood that Mr McDonald was further due to deliver a separate report from seven medical experts, which claims the results of insulin tests on two babies, whom a jury concluded Letby had poisoned, were unreliable.
In recent months, criticism of the investigation into the Letby case, the trial process and the legitimacy of expert witnesses has ramped up.
As the Thirlwall Inquiry, which has been investigating the circumstances surrounding Letby’s crimes, was due to hear its closing statements last month, protestors gathered outside Liverpool Town Hall to declare her innocence.
Lady Justice Thirlwall later ruled that her inquiry, due to report this autumn, would not be paused despite requests to do so while the CCRC reviews the case.
Meanwhile, the former head of nursing at the Countess of Chester Hospital, Karen Rees, also publicly declared in February that she had changed her mind about the convictions and said she thought Letby was innocent.
Further, senior Conservative MP Sir David Davis has been leading calls for a retrial of Letby from Westminster.
Despite rising concerns about her conviction, Cheshire Constabulary, which investigated the Letby case, has dismissed the criticism.
In a statement, detective superintendent Paul Hughes, senior investigating officer at Cheshire Constabulary, said: “The investigation into the actions of Lucy Letby, the trial process and medical experts continues to face scrutiny and criticism, much of it ill-informed and based on a very partial knowledge of the facts and totality of evidence presented at court and at the Court of Appeal.”
Mr Hughes argued that the case had been “rigorously and fairly tested” through two juries – who had deliberated for more than 100 hours – and two sets of appeal court judges.
He noted that it had followed an investigation by his colleagues that had been running for six years and was “like no other in scope, complexity and magnitude”.
“It was a detailed and painstaking process by a team of almost 70 police officers and no stone was left unturned,” he added.
Also in his statement, Mr Hughes set out that officers had sifted through 32,000 pages of evidence and had spoken to around 2,000 people, 250 of whom were identified as potential witnesses at the trial.
He explained that multiple medical experts were enlisted who were “highly regarded in their area of expertise and were cross examined whilst giving their evidence in court”.
Overall, Mr Hughes said Cheshire Constabulary had “chosen not to enter into the widespread public debate surrounding this case”.
He added: “It is out of a deep sense of respect for the parents of the babies that we have not and will not get drawn into the widespread commentary and speculation online and in the media.
“They have suffered greatly and continue to do so as this case plays out in a very public forum.
“There is a significant public interest in the reporting of this case, and everyone is entitled to an opinion however, every story that is published, statement made, or comment posted online that refers to the specific details of a live investigation can impede the course of justice and cause further distress to all those involved.”
He noted that Cheshire Constabulary was “ready to support the CCRC” in its processes.
“Our priority is to maintain the integrity of our ongoing investigations and to continue to support the many families who are affected by this,” said Mr Hughes.
