THE cop who caught serial baby-killer Beverley Allitt has told of his belief that jailed nurse Lucy Letby is innocent of the crime.
Retired Det Supt Stuart Clifton has been reviewing the evidence against the 36-year-old — serving 15 whole-life sentences for murdering seven babies and attempting to kill seven others at Countess of Chester hospital.
Lucy Letby is currently serving 15 whole-life sentences for murdering seven babiesCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
Letby on duty at Countess of Chester Hospital’s neonatal unitCredit: MEN Media
Retired Det Supt Stuart Clifton, who nailed ‘Angel of Death’ Beverley Allitt in 1991Credit: Andrew Styczynski
And Stuart, who nailed in 1991, said: “This is likely the greatest miscarriage of justice this century .”
The development comes after last week confirmed — offering her hope that the Criminal Cases Review Commission will sanction a new appeal.
And a hearing yesterday laid the groundwork to reopen inquests into Letby’s victims.
Possible innocence
Next week, will made in co-operation with Police, featuring never-before-seen footage of their investigation.
The Sun approached Stuart to end speculation around
Within days of beginning his review, it became clear he could not support the conviction.
In his report, he found:
- NO persuasive evidence that any of the babies Letby was convicted over were intentionally harmed;
- NO evidence she made attempts to harm them or any babies, and;
- NO evidence that letters she wrote amount to a confession.
The review even claims aspects of the prosecution against Letby belong in “Alice in Wonderland”.
Stuart concluded: “I am totally satisfied that is innocent of all charges and that the evidence in relation to the causes of deaths and collapses put forward at trial is incorrect.
“The net result is that this is likely the greatest miscarriage of justice this century — and that we have seen in a very long time.”
Stuart, a cop for 31 years, spent 23 years as a senior detective reviewing evidence and authorising charging before the CPS took over the function in 2004.
Netflix is set to air a new documentary made in co-operation with Cheshire PoliceCredit: Netflix
Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill seven others at Countess of Chester hospitalCredit: PA
He told The Sun: “The inquiry in the Letby case seems to have started from the presumption that there were unlawful acts being committed at the neonatal unit at Chester Hospital.
“That’s a dangerous presumption to start from.”
“I think what one should do from the start is what we did in the Allitt case.
In my view, there is no evidence at all that children were murdered.
Retired Det Supt Stuart Clifton
“That was, look at the evidence that is available which would support the supposition that these children died as the result of criminal hands.
“In my view, there is no evidence at all that children were murdered.
“And I support that by saying that from June 2015 to July 2016, there were numerous reviews by senior paediatricians at the hospital.
“None concluded there was a criminal in the midst, killing children and babies.”
of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven more.
THREE CRUCIAL CASE STUDIES
BABY F
PROSECUTION CASE: The court was told how Lucy Letby had tried to kill the baby by poisoning him with insulin.
When it emerged the nurse had not been on shift at the time, prosecutors and star witness Dewi Evans changed their minds mid-trial and claimed she must have spiked a feed bag while it lay in a drawer with dozens of others.
COUNTER CLAIM: Top cop Stuart has blasted the claim as “Alice in Wonderland” saying there is no evidence Letby touched the bag — or that it was tampered with at all.
He has demanded to know what happened to a sample bag that was taken for testing.
BABY A
PROSECUTION CASE: The court was told Lucy Letby killed a baby by injecting them with air — and this was backed up by a paediatric pathologist.
COUNTER CLAIM: Stuart says that there was no evidence of embolism, which Evans diagnosed from notes despite admitting to never seeing one.
Instead the presence of air is better explained by thrombosis caused by catheters in the already unwell child.
CHILD O
PROSECUTION CASE: The jury was told the baby boy born at 33 weeks died from blunt force trauma to the liver and then later added that oxygen must have been injected as well.
COUNTER CLAIM: Stuart was entirely persuaded by the explanation from internal experts appointed by Letby’s lawyer, who blamed poor care.
Instead over-ventilation during resuscitation and a needle mistakenly inserted into the liver to release gastric pressure were blamed.
Her prosecution was based on medical opinion that babies were harmed, rota data claiming Letby was present, and claims of odd behaviour.
Stuart’s review found that there was no medical evidence any of the babies suffered intentional harm.
He points to internal and external reviews — before police were called over Letby — that failed to find any suggestion of criminality.
The only forensic suggestion babies might have been intentionally harmed was high insulin readings in two babies who collapsed.
But the report makes it clear Letby was not working for one of these — and prosecution speculation she spiked a feed bag was simply “Alice in Wonderland”.
Police last week confirmed Letby faces no further chargesCredit: PA
Instead the report accepts new evidence from experts that insulin rates can cluster in premature babies because of “autoimmune antibodies”.
The report finds the only clinician who found medical narratives the babies had been harmed was Dr Dewi Evans.
He was accused of touting for work over the enquiry.
Then, despite years of experts failing to find any suggestion of intentional harm, Evans claimed “foul play” within ten minutes of looking at the first file.
‘Missed’ evidence
Cheshire Police were “impressed” and awarded him a potentially lucrative role to investigate Letby.
But Stuart’s report questions how Evans found evidence supposedly “missed” by the previous neonatal reviews and a new international panel of world-experts after the conviction.
It criticises Evans’ role as an adviser to the cops during their investigation as “absolute conflict of interest” when he was presented as an “independent expert” in .
ALLITT'S CONFESSIONS
By
‘ANGEL of Death’ Beverley Allitt used her role as a nurse to kill three babies and a lad of eight.
In 1991 Det Supt Chilton led the investigation that saw the 22-year-old charged with murdering four children, attempting to kill three others, and causing GBH to a further six at Grantham and Kesteven Hospital in Lincs.
She had started on the children’s ward weeks before the death of seven-month-old Liam Taylor. Allitt’s 59-day reign of terror saw her kill an 11-year-old disabled boy a fortnight later.
Still undetected, she murdered a two-month-old twin girl. The alarm was finally raised when 15-month-old Claire Peck died in the nurse’s care.
A police probe found 13 victims — with Allitt’s presence the only common factor.
She was convicted at Nottingham Crown Court in 1993 and is serving 13 life sentences, with a minimum of 30 years at Rampton Secure Hospital, Notts.
Allitt later contacted Det Supt Chilton and admitted to three of the murders and six of the assaults she was charged with.
Secondly, the prosecution case used a staffing rota to show Letby was present for all 14 murders and attempted murders.
But Stuart’s report claims this ignores the fact that dozens more cases were given to police to review suggesting they cherry-picked cases linked to Letby.
From his experience , Stuart wrote: “We learn that those intent on killing or harming do not wish to be seen whilst carrying out their criminal acts.
“They will create for themselves situations where they are alone and are usually adept at manipulation of those around them.”
In contrast, he said Letby was not the allocated nurse in every case, nor was she at the cot side when events occurred.
Thirdly, prosecutors at Letby’s trial in made huge use of an alleged confession letter and Post-it notes found at her house.
Stuart Clifton’s report is groundbreaking and exposes the many flaws in the case and trial.
Letby’s barrister Mark MacDonald
Stuart says these have “no value whatsoever in an evidential sense”.
Tory MP has demanded the CCRC speed up their review and send the case back to the appeal .
Dr Dewi Evans rejected Stuart’s findings, saying they were meaningless unless the investigator had looked at “the clinical notes”.
He stood by the evidence he provided in court and said he was better qualified than anyone to assess the causes of death.
Letby’s barrister Mark MacDonald said: “Stuart Clifton’s report is groundbreaking and exposes the many flaws in the case and trial.
“I agree with his conclusion, Lucy Letby is innocent.”
Cheshire Police and the hospital declined to comment last night.
The charges Letby has been convicted of in full
Child A, allegation of murder. The Crown said Letby injected air intravenously into the bloodstream of the baby boy. COUNT 1 GUILTY.
Child B, allegation of attempted murder. The Crown said Letby attempted to murder the baby girl, the twin sister of Child A, by injecting air into her bloodstream. COUNT 2 GUILTY.
Child C, allegation of murder. Prosecutors said Letby forced air down a feeding tube and into the stomach of the baby boy. COUNT 3 GUILTY.
Child D, allegation of murder. The Crown said air was injected intravenously into the baby girl. COUNT 4 GUILTY.
Child E, allegation of murder. The Crown said Letby murdered the twin baby boy with an injection of air into the bloodstream and also deliberately caused bleeding to the infant. COUNT 5 GUILTY.
Child F, allegation of attempted murder. Letby was said by prosecutors to have poisoned the twin brother of Child E with insulin. COUNT 6 GUILTY.
Child I, allegation of murder. The prosecution said Letby killed the baby girl at the fourth attempt and had given her air and overfed her with milk. COUNT 12 GUILTY.
Child K, allegation of attempted murder. The prosecution said Letby compromised the baby girl as she deliberately dislodged a breathing tube. COUNT 14 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT AT ORIGINAL TRIAL, NOW GUILTY AFTER RETRIAL
Child L, allegation of attempted murder. The Crown said the nurse poisoned the twin baby boy with insulin. COUNT 15 GUILTY.
Child M, allegation of attempted murder. Prosecutors said Letby injected air into the bloodstream of Child L’s twin brother. COUNT 16 GUILTY.
Child N, three allegations of attempted murder. The Crown said Letby inflicted trauma in the baby boy’s throat and also injected him with air in the bloodstream. COUNT 17 GUILTY, COUNT 18 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT, COUNT 19 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT.
Child O, allegation of murder. Prosecutors say Letby attacked the triplet boy by injecting him with air, overfeeding him with milk and inflicting trauma to his liver with “severe force”. COUNT 20 GUILTY.
Child P, allegation of murder. Prosecutors said the nurse targeted the triplet brother of Child O by overfeeding him with milk, injecting air and dislodging his breathing tube. COUNT 21 GUILTY.
Child Q, allegation of attempted murder. The Crown said Letby injected the baby boy with liquid, and possibly air, down his feeding tube. COUNT 22 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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