FOR a year I have been investigating the Lucy Letby case and the one question that refuses to go away – did she really do it?
Our aim was clear when we started – we set out to prove the neonatal nurse was the “wicked” monster a jury found her to be. But just two weeks into our deep dive into all the evidence I heard four words that changed everything.
They came from retired Det Supt. Stuart Clifton – the man who caught the original Angel of Death, killer-nurse – the man we went to for help understanding .
Stuart had agreed to help me look into Letby. We agreed the endless speculation – that question that never went away – “did she do it?” – needed to be resolved.
We felt for the families and loved ones of all those involved – for everyone at the hospital and linked to the trials.
We wanted to help.
But two weeks in that was when Stuart called me and told me he couldn’t help me.
That was when he said to me: “She hasn’t done anything.”
I had wanted to end the debate and prove Letby wilfully killed seven babies in her care and tried to kill seven more at a hospital in Chester – and stop the hurtful speculation.
It seemed impossible Britain’s biggest could actually be innocent – that our courts could have bungled the biggest murder trial in history.
But here was the man I was relying on to help me pick through the evidence – and he couldn’t see any obvious signs of guilt.
Letby had been on the front of our newspaper as a monster – as “wicked”.
But here was someone telling me it might not be true.
I went back to my newsdesk.
The message was simple – keep going.
But the more we dug – the more doubt we uncovered.
It was clear we couldn’t turn our backs on everything we were seeing.
As the new evidence kept coming we knew the only way to explain such an important case, with so many twists and turns was to produce a .
We wanted the country to see and hear from the experts and whistleblowers we tracked down first-hand – to consume it all with their own eyes and ears and decide for themselves.
What we have presented is more extraordinary access to this compelling case than has ever been achieved anywhere before.
An insider from the hospital at the time – a consultant no less – claims he fears , if only unintentionally.
His explanation that the unit she worked on had too many babies, that were too unwell – and not enough staff, space (or even a safe building) – is born out in a papertrail of documents.
There are conflicting accounts from the only eye witness in the case, whose story was what sparked the police investigation.
What cops heard may not have been accurate.
The confession note evidence has been critically undermined by the world’s leading confessions expert.
He left his job to back the Letby case.
The rota chart has been exposed as biased and misleading by the statistician employed to examine it by police.
It turns out the forensic evidence contained a string of missing readings – the reality of what was happening with those babies medically was never explained to the court.
The trial might have been halted in the first week – or perhaps never reached court.
Fundamentally, the prosecution’s lead medical advisor appears not to be able to adequately explain why no air was found in the hearts of all the murdered babies.
According to the method of murder he relies on for them, it should be – but it wasn’t there in x-rays.
The last year has been a rollercoaster.
We can’t say if Lucy Letby is innocent or guilty.
Only a court can decide that.
But after everything we have learned, it has become increasingly difficult to believe Letby killed those babies the way they say she did.
And if you take that away, what do you have left?
The Countess of Chester Hospital has refused to respond to the questions we have uncovered in detail, choosing to say: “We are unable to comment on issues that remain subject to an ongoing investigation.”
Cheshire Police too have said little on our findings.
Their response has been limited to: “We strongly refute the allegations made and remain confident in the integrity of the investigation, the conduct of the prosecution, and the decisions reached by the courts.
“Our thoughts remain with the families of the babies – who have always been at the heart of this case.”
Just last week the – the Government’s £18million look into the events
For many it appeared to underscore her guilt – but in reality it did not examine any of the questions that have continued to emerge around the case.
Inquiry chair Lady Justice Kathryn Thirlwall bust be acutely aware of the inconsistencies – but it was not her job to examine them.
So where are we now?
We can’t say if Lucy Letby is innocent or guilty.
Only a court can decide that.
But after everything we have learned, it has become increasingly difficult to believe Letby killed those babies the way they say she did.
And if you take that away, what do you have left?
- Lucy Letby: Scapegoat? is available to stream on 5 now
