The prize fund on the Powerball regularly exceeds a billion dollars with a record-breaking win of $2.04 billion won in 2022

Lottery players in Belfast bought the most tickets online on launch day as the UK joins the American Powerball lottery for the first time this week.

Powerball tickets went on sale across the UK on Tuesday. National Lottery players have been snapping up tickets for their chance to win the world’s biggest rolling jackpot game for the very first time tonight.

With hundreds of thousands of tickets sold across retail and online through the National Lottery website and app in the first 24 hours alone, Powerball fever is here as players take their chance on the life-changing estimated £300M jackpot.

When it comes to who is playing, digital players in Belfast purchased the most tickets in the UK on launch day.

Meanwhile, a customer at The Candy Bar in Ballymena was one of the first to buy a physical ticket when they went on sale at 5am on Tuesday morning.

Players have until 11.55 pm on Wednesday, 22nd July to secure their chance to be part of Powerball history, ahead of the first draw at around 4 am (UK time) on Thursday 23rd July. Following the launch, draws will take place three times a week from the Powerball studio in Florida.

The game is behind some of the world’s most extraordinary lottery wins, including the record-breaking jackpot worth more than $2.04 billion won in 2022. With uncapped jackpots starting at £10 million and capable of growing into the hundreds of millions, and even beyond £1 billion, Powerball offers prize potential unlike anything previously available through The National Lottery.

Andy Carter, Senior Winners’ Advisor at Allwyn, operator of The National Lottery, said: “What a brilliant start, as Powerball fever grips the UK and our players get their tickets for the very first draw! The £300M jackpot is bigger than any UK jackpot ever won so this is a massive moment for UK National Lottery players.

“A win of this size, scooping Powerball Money, opens up a world of possibility and allows you to dream bigger than ever before.”

Priced at £4 per line, UK players will play for a chance to win the shared jackpot by matching five main numbers plus the Powerball, with the jackpot paid to UK winners over 30 years.

Players choose five main numbers from 1 to 69 and one Powerball number from 1 to 26, or can opt for a Lucky Dip.

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

Yemen’s Houthis say they have attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea as the US launched its 12th consecutive night of strikes on Iran.

Iranian state media said two people had been killed in the US strikes on Wednesday, and a tanker caught fire in an explosion in a mined route in the Strait of Hormuz.

Ahead of the latest round of strikes, US President Donald Trump had threatened to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant if Iran attacked a ship in the strait and to “take care of” the Houthis if they blocked the Red Sea.

If confirmed, the Houthi attack would be the first since the Iran-backed group announced a “maritime embargo” against Saudi Arabia.

The Houthis named the tankers as the Encelia and the Layla, though neither their responsibility, nor the attack on the Layla has been confirmed.

The group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree said they had targeted the ships with drones and missiles for allegedly violating its naval blockade.

Saree added that the Houthis promised to continue their naval operations and would continue “enforcing the ‘siege for a siege’ equation”.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency confirmed early on Thursday that the Encelia was struck “while sailing in the Red Sea”, resulting in a fire on its bow.

Citing an unnamed official source at the Transport General Authority, it described the attack as a violation of international law. All crew were safe, it reported.

UK Maritime Trade Operation (UKMTO) reported an “unknown projectile” struck a Saudi tanker about 130km from Al Shuqaiq in Saudi Arabia at 20:00 GMT. The attack caused a fire but no casualties, it said.

British maritime risk management group Vanguard also reported that the Saudi tanker Encelia had been hit.

US Central Command (Centcom) said at 21:30 GMT it had launched strikes at Trump’s direction “to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters”.

The strikes targeted “Iranian military targets including maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites, and air defense assets,” it said.

Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain soon reported responding to airborne threats, before Iran’s military said they had targeted US assets in all three countries, according to AFP.

Iranian state media reported two people had been killed in US strikes on the country’s south near its border with Iraq.

Meanwhile, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) said the Strait of Hormuz was “completely closed” after an explosion in the channel, Iranian state media reported.

The IRGC said it had stopped three oil tankers from passing through the strait.

One tanker caught fire and two others turned back after attempting to pass through a mined route south of the strait, according to Iranian state media.

It comes after Trump promised earlier on Wednesday to attack an Iranian bridge or power plant if its forces hit ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi later warned of an “eye for an eye” response to attacks on Iran.

On Tuesday, Trump told reporters he would “take care of the Houthis” should they obstruct the Red Sea as they had said.

Few details of the “maritime embargo” were given by the Houthis when it was announced on Monday, but a media official said they were closing the Bab al-Mandab Strait – the Red Sea’s southern gateway – to Saudi vessels.

The next 10 days of weather are crucial in determining the impact of record-breaking dry and hot conditions on food supplies in Britain, farmers have warned. 

The South-East has seen the longest spell of no rainfall for more than 30 years, while England as a whole has had just 3 per cent of its long-term average July rainfall – and 23million people across the country are now under or facing hosepipe restrictions.

Three heatwaves have brought the UK’s hottest ever days in May and June, while the latest one earlier this month saw 12 consecutive days of temperatures above 30C.

Now, the National Farmers Union (NFU) has warned that ‘the next week to ten days could have an impact’ on food supplies given some areas have not yet harvested.

Cucumbers are also under threat after extreme heat in Spain and Morocco led to an overreliance on Dutch imports where suppliers are charging over £1 per vegetable. 

The National Drought Group has revealed this year’s extreme conditions have had a ‘severe impact on our environment and affecting water supplies and food production’.

The organisation – which brings together the Met Office, government, regulators, water companies, farmers and conservation experts – said harvests have begun early and the heat was increasing the risk of fires breaking out in combine harvesters.

The high temperatures are also said to be causing moisture issues for cereals while spring barley yields are set to be impacted by a lack of rain earlier in the season.

Parched fairways at Scraptoft Golf Club in Leicestershire yesterday as dry weather continues

Visitors enjoy the hot weather at East Cliff beach in West Bay, Dorset, yesterday afternoon

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Scorched and parched grass at Cannizaro Park in Wimbledon, south-west London, yesterday

People queue for ice cream at the Farnborough International Airshow in Hampshire yesterday

Some farmers in East Anglia, where it has been very dry, have had to stop abstracting water from local rivers because of the reduced flows caused by limited rainfall. 

An NFU spokesman told The Independent: ‘Some areas haven’t harvested yet so what happens over the next week to ten days could have an impact. We’re asking the Environment Agency to be flexible when it comes to abstraction.’

South-east England has now seen the longest unbroken spell of no recorded rainfall since 1995, with an average of zero rainfall measured across the organisation’s weather stations in the region for 17 days in a row.

London has now not had rain for 25 days since June 27 – while Wisley in Surrey holds the current record, having had 34 consecutive dry days.

NFU deputy president Paul Tompkins said: ‘Farmers and growers across the country are working around the clock to harvest crops which have come early, keep fruit and vegetables watered, and care for their livestock.

‘Parts of the country, particularly in the east and south, have seen exceptionally low rainfall this spring and summer, creating real challenges for farm businesses.

‘For many arable farmers, this could be another difficult and expensive harvest after extreme weather impacts in both 2024 and 2025 which saw both drought and flood.

‘To help farmers adapt, we must strengthen resilience to climate volatility. That means a more responsive abstraction licensing system, a consistent positive approach in planning to make building reservoirs easier, which will lead to investment in on-farm water storage.’

Extreme heat across Europe and North Africa has caused a shortage of cucumbers in the UK, according to the Lea Valley Growers Association (LVGA).

Its secretary Lee Stiles said: ‘Reports of early aborted flowers in Spain and Morocco due to the heat has meant that Holland is the main cucumber market at the moment.

‘The Dutch are charging over £1 per cucumber at present and therefore the supermarkets can either pay the price or choose to have a lack of supply and empty shelves.

‘We have been here before many times due to climate change and global conflict and it once again highlights the importance of British food security.’

The LVGA represents 75 per cent of the UK cucumber crop, but the country is just 20 per cent self-sufficient for the vegetable.

The Met Office expects some parts of the North and West could start to see some rain from this weekend, although conditions will remain warm and dry in the South.

Chief forecaster Steve Willington said: ‘The high pressure has been a key feature of the UK’s weather forecast over the last few weeks, bringing above-average temperatures and extremely dry conditions for many.

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‘However, we will begin to see a modest change as a weak weather front pushes south across the UK on Saturday bringing some much-needed rain, albeit it light and mainly concentrated in the North and West.

‘Behind the front a showery air mass will bring potentially heavy showers some of which may be thundery.’

Next week some Atlantic dominated weather fronts will push in from the West and bring some rain, but there will also be brighter spells bringing temperatures in the mid-20Cs.

Met Office deputy chief forecaster Greg Wolverson added: ‘Although there is a return to rain in the forecast, we have just come out of an exceptionally dry spell and the forecast rain is unlikely to be widespread or substantial.

‘Many areas are likely to continue experiencing prevailing dry conditions for the foreseeable future, especially in southern England.’

It comes after the Environment Agency said ‘prolonged dry weather’ has now been declared in East Anglia, the West Midlands, Devon, Cornwall, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, Hertfordshire and London, Wessex, Thames, Solent and the South Downs.

This means these eight areas are one stage away from official drought status, as dry and hot conditions continue for large parts of the country.

Six reservoirs are also classed as having ‘notably low’ levels, the regulator said, including Wimbleball in Somerset, Grafham in Cambridgeshire and Hanningfield in Essex.

Only 13 per cent of rivers are classed at normal levels for this time of year, with the Avon (Hampshire), Cam, Derwent (Yorkshire), Swale, Tone, Wye and Yare seeing exceptionally low levels.

There have been 28 days in 2026, consecutive and non-consecutive, when 30C has been exceeded somewhere in the UK: seven in May, eight in June and 13 in July.

The Thames Water hosepipe ban covers the 10.1million customers that the firm supplies across London, the Thames Valley and the home counties. These areas are marked in blue

The record for the number of 30C-plus days in a calendar year is 34, which was set in 1995. 

It comes as Britain’s biggest water company implemented a hosepipe ban for 10.1million customers.

Thames Water said the restriction, also known as a temporary use ban (TUB), came into effect at 12.01am on Thursday.

The ban applies to all customers that it supplies with drinking water across London, the Thames Valley and the Home Counties – but not to waste-only customers.

It means hosepipes should not be used for watering gardens, cleaning cars or windows, or filling paddling pools, hot tubs or swimming pools.

The company is the latest in a string of utilities to announce a temporary use ban in recent weeks.

Officials say 23million people across England are now under or facing restrictions.

On Monday, South East Water announced that a hosepipe ban in Kent will be extended to parts of Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire from Saturday.

Bans are also in place for Southern Water customers across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and South West Water customers in parts of Devon and Lyme Regis in Dorset.

Customers of Cambridge Water, Affinity Water and Anglian Water, which supply areas in the East of England, have also introduced restrictions.

Katie Price’s husband Lee Andrews has suffered a huge blow as his own family turned on him in a new shocking statement on Wednesday. 

Lee has recently been released from prison in Dubai for a second time after facing allegations of fraud. 

Now in a new statement seen by the The Sun, Lee school friends said: ‘Kelly Andrews and I just want to take a moment to speak the truth.

‘Recent information shared has brought forward evidence that has left us both shocked.

‘We are the first to admit when we’re wrong, and now that there is proof, we feel it’s important to acknowledge that.

‘We also want people to understand that this involves Kelly’s brother, which makes this incredibly painful for their family.

‘The Lee we knew was never like this, which makes it even harder for us, as his sister and as a friend, to get our heads around everything that’s come to light.’

Lee was taken by police to Lahab police station in the Dubai desert on July 10 and was scrambling to raise a £120,000 fine.

His father Peter was said to have been thrown into the same jail as Lee after being reported to officials on suspicion of fraud.

On Monday, it was reported Lee had been released but his father still remained behind bars. However, insiders have now said Peter is out and has spoken to Lee’s wife, Katie. 

‘Katie is aware that Peter has been let out and has spoken to him,’ a source told The Sun. 

‘She’s focusing on her life and job commitments in the UK at the moment and just putting her best foot forward’ 

Katie’s representative declined to comment when contacted by the Daily Mail. 

Lee and his dad are thought to have seen each other while behind bars as they both faced allegations of fraud. 

The sources added that Lee had to raise funds to pay off his debts before he could be released. 

Earlier this month, it was reported that Lee was put behind bars once again just a month after his release from Dubai prison Al Awir, yet was ‘bragging’ he was set for release as he had raised the £120,000 fine he was faced with.

Katie had been communicating with Lee’s father Peter when he first went missing in May, and it was he who first confirmed to the Daily Mail that his son had been arrested.

It’s thought that Lee’s wife Katie has finally reached ‘the end of her tether’ with her husband, with pals urging her to finally ‘leave him’.

A source said: ‘Both Lee and his dad are now behind bars, in the same prison. Lee maintains his innocence, and is hoping to pay off his outstanding debts and get out of that hell hole as quickly as possible.’

In a new statement, Lee’s family said: ‘The Lee we knew was never like this, which makes it even harder for us, as his sister, to get our heads around everything that’s come to light’

‘He is trying to raise the collateral to get him out of the country, and return to the UK where he hopes to start his life afresh.’

‘Whether poor Katie will be there to greet him on the other side remains to be seen. Right now she is furious with it all, and fed up with all the drama and white noise her husband is bringing. Friends are urging her to leave him.’

Earlier this week it was also revealed that Lee has allegedly been ‘touting his sex tape with wife Katie for months’ amid his plans to sell the footage for £250,000.

New reports claim Lee has considered selling the video to Vivid Entertainment, who cashed in on leaked videos of Kim Kardashian and Pamela Anderson.

Reports then emerged claiming a voice note allegedly sent by Lee to a friend before he was detained on fraud allegations, captures him discussing a tape that ‘might go for a pretty penny’. 

In the alleged recording, Lee reportedly says he needs to ‘get cash quickly’ and suggests the tape could earn him £250,000. He reportedly backtracked when he learnt that it would be illegal, saying he had only been joking. 

Katie has denied all claims of ever making a sex tape with Lee.

Claims of the sex tape were first documented by The Sun, who reported hearing a voice note allegedly made by Lee in which he discussed money making plans. 

They claim: ‘Lee was touting a “sex tape” he said he had of him and Katie around in the US. He seemed to be pretty au fait with companies he needed to contact.

‘People were talking about it over here, saying he’d contacted Vivid Entertainment and other companies who distribute adult content.

‘He had money on his mind too and there was a suggestion on his side of getting an advance of £250,000. It’s absolutely crazy. He wasn’t taken seriously and it all came to nothing in the end, but that didn’t stop him trying.’ 

The Daily Mail has contacted Katie and Lee’s representatives for a comment. 

Katie hit back at the reports of a sex tape on Saturday, sharing a statement that read: ‘This story is completely untrue. I have never made such a tape and any suggestion otherwise is false and deeply misleading.

‘The claims appear to be based on a voice note sent from Lee discussing a tape…a tape which does not exist and never will. This material has been passed to The Sun by a third party and does not reflect reality.’

She added: ‘I feel incredibly upset, abused and humiliated that such serious and false allegations have been shared publicly without any factual basis.’ 

In the voice note, Lee reportedly said ‘I could always release my sex tape with my wife, but it might go for a pretty penny. Yeah, there is a short one of that, but that’s between you and me.

‘So see if a newspaper will pay for that — quarter of a million f***ing quid…’

However, apparently when Lee was warned that it was illegal without Katie’s consent, he quickly backtracked on his alleged plans.

He reportedly replies: ‘I was not serious on that mate we have OnlyFans we will do our thing on this.’

“Having a British passport or connections to the UK can be reason enough for the Iranian authorities to detain you,” the FCDO said in its latest guidance on Iran

The UK has withdrawn its remaining diplomatic staff from Iran as the conflict in the Middle East appears to be escalating.

The US has carried out its 12th consecutive night of airstrikes on Iran in the latest round of fighting between the two nations.

A statement issued by the UK’s Foreign Office (FCDO) on Wednesday, July 22 reads: ” Due to the security situation, UK staff have been temporarily withdrawn from Iran.”

The UK embassy continues to operate remotely.

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The FCDO has also advised against all travel to Iran.

“If you are a British national already in Iran, either resident or visitor, carefully consider your presence there and the risks you take by staying,” the statement continued.

“British and British-Iranian dual nationals are at significant risk of arrest, questioning or detention. Having a British passport or connections to the UK can be reason enough for the Iranian authorities to detain you.”

The region has been subject to instability since the US and Israel carried out joint strikes on several key Iranian sites on February 28. Iran retaliated by striking sites across the region and closing the Strait of Hormuz waterway.

On June 17, the US and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding to bring the war to a close within 60 days.

Washington and Tehran were working towards securing a lasting peace agreement to bring the conflict to an end, restore international shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and seek to settle an ongoing dispute over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

But both sides have failed to achieve lasting peace, with attacks resuming this month.

Also on Wednesday, the US and Saudi Arabia signed a landmark deal that will reportedly allow the kingdom to develop a civilian nuclear programme.

The US energy department has described the deal as a “peaceful nuclear co-operation agreement” that will provide “great access for American companies in the Saudi nuclear energy program”.

The deal could allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium in the future, according to US media.

This could be used as fuel for power plants and to make nuclear bombs.

US President Donald Trump has long said his country’s war in Iran is to prevent the Middle Eastern nation from developing such weapons.

Lots of Tots holiday club was in attendance at the time the fire broke out

Young children were quickly evacuated from a Welsh primary school as a fire ripped through the building.

Staff working the Lots of Tots holiday club at the Awel Y Mor Primary School in Port Talbot, Wales, have been praised for their swift action in ensuring the youngsters got to safety as the building went up in flames.

Fire crews rushed to the scene just after 10am on Wednesday morning as flames and thick black plumes of smoke was seen billowing from the windows.

Dozens of children were attending for the Lots of Tots club during the summer holidays. The group will be cancelled for the rest of the week as a result of the fire, Wales Online reports.

A post from the group said thanked staff “for their calm and professional evacuation of the children”.

A video shows flames billowing from a window of the primary school, where scaffolding is currently erected.

Firefighters from Port Talbot, Neath Swansea Central, Morriston and Swansea West Fire Stations worked to bring the blaze under control, before leaving the scene at around 12.45pm.

A spokeswoman for Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: “At 10.10am on Wednesday, July 22, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service crews from Port Talbot, Neath Swansea Central, Morriston and Swansea West Fire Stations were called to an incident at Awel Y Mor Primary School, Port Talbot.

“Crews responded to a fire within Sandwich Panels of the school. Crews utilised four breathing apparatus sets and two hose reel jets, turntable ladder and water bowser to extinguish the fire.

“Crews left the scene at 12.43pm.”

A post from the Lots of Tots group read: “Following the fire in the main school building, we’ll remain closed for the rest of this week. We’ll assess the damage and plan for the safe return of children and staff to the undamaged playgroup. A reopening date or decision can’t be made until a full assessment is complete.

“Finally, a massive thank you to the staff for their calm and professional evacuation of the children and ensuring everyone’s safety.”

Neath Port Talbot Council has been approached for comment.

Munther Althoman, 23, is believed to have gone on foot towards Seven Acres Country Park, Bolton on July 21 night, entering the woodland from Back Salisbury Terrace.

Police at Seven Acres Country Park (Image: Phil Taylor)

At the time he was wearing a turquoise shorts, no top, and no shoes.

Greater Manchester Police put out a statement: “Munther Althoman, born August 312002 is wanted on recall to prison and assaulting an emergency worker.

“Officers believe Althoman made off on foot towards Seven Acres Country Park, Bolton yesterday (Tuesday 21 July) and was last night seen entering the woodland area from Back Sailsbury Terrace, wearing turquoise shorts, no top and no shoes.

(Image: Phil Taylor)

“If you have any information please contact us on 101 or LiveChat. In an emergency always call 999.”

Police were at Seven Acres Country Park on the morning of July 22 searching for Munther, who remains at large, with one officer saying they were looking for a shirtless man.

What a strange country this is, where the King can pardon a long-dead killer, Ruth Ellis, while a living, breathing woman, Lucy Letby, convicted in a dubious case that has been shot to pieces by an army of experts, sits for month after month in jail while the rusty wheels of justice fail to turn.

There was never any actual evidence against Ms Letby, just a series of weird and increasingly unlikely theories about how she might have committed the crimes she was jailed for. This contrived melodrama, exposed to the light of day, and to hard fact, is rapidly losing its power over the public mind. Even the Crown Prosecution Service has turned down an attempt to charge her with more offences.

Why is Lucy Letby still waiting for the courts to shift? This question grows more urgent every day. A few days ago my colleague Kathryn Knight reported in The Mail on Sunday the amazing story of how Ms Letby – supposedly an evil mass murderer – had in fact been the health professional who twice intervened to save Jessica, the baby daughter of two very grateful parents.

Now a harrowing BBC Radio 4 report has argued that several other parents were appalled by the treatment they received at the same hospital – the Countess of Chester.

Their problems had nothing to do with Lucy Letby, who they never met. Let us not forget that the globally renowned neonatal doctor Shoo Lee, shown evidence of the way that hospital was run, has said that if it was in his home country, Canada, it would have been shut down

And that back in 2015, a paediatrician at the hospital warned its chief executive that the neonatal unit where Lucy Letby worked was chaotic, overstretched and unsafe for patients and staff two years before Ms Letby was suspended.

Dr Alison Timmis emailed the chief executive Tony Chambers, in December 2015, reporting that staff were in tears because they had to look after more babies than the unit could safely accommodate.

She wrote: ‘Over the past few weeks I have seen several medical and nursing colleagues in tears… they get upset as they know that the care they are providing falls below their high standards.’ Staff were ‘chronically overworked’ and she felt no one was listening. 

She continued: ‘This is not an exceptionally busy week… This is now our normal working pattern and it is not safe. Things are stretched thinner and thinner and are at breaking point. When things snap, the casualties will either be children’s lives or the mental and physical health of our staff.’

This would come as no surprise to many families who have had any experience of NHS maternity care in the last few years. The reports pile up. But the prosecution of Ms Letby sailed past this difficulty.

The Countess of Chester’s problems prosecutors argued, could be better explained by the presence of a determined serial killer of indescribable evil, secretly and ingeniously spreading death through the ward.

Now, direct evidence has emerged that the hospital was suffering from major problems during the period of Ms Letby’s supposed killings. BBC Radio 4’s File On Four, on Tuesday night, produced deeply harrowing accounts of things going badly wrong. I listened in mingled horror and astonishment – knowing as I do from members of my own family that maternity care in the NHS is in crisis – as I heard that that such things could happen in our supposedly advanced country.

I do hope that the new Health Secretary, Yvette Cooper, will take time to listen, too. The programme (which can easily be listened to online) interviewed several mothers who had suffered there. Their accounts are appalling.

They speak of offhand care, absent nurses and doctors, complacency about symptoms. One mother was even told to clear up blood that had dripped on to the floor after her cannula accidentally came out.

Another, Freya Somerton, recalled being told that, as soon as she went into labour, ‘a consultant would be keeping a very close eye on her because of some health concerns and because her baby didn’t move much in pregnancy.’ But it didn’t happen.

Lucy Letby had been the health professional who twice intervened to save Jessica Bolton

A paediatrician had warned the hospital was chaotic, overstretched and unsafe for patients and staff two years before Ms Letby was suspended

‘We didn’t see a consultant, even though we were high risk.’ Then, during the labour, she says staff were reduced to using her face wipes to clean the ‘bright red blood everywhere’. ‘And I’m in quite a lot of pain at this point, really, as well. The baby’s head still hasn’t moved. We’re finally seen by, well, a registrar.’ I will not describe here the terrifying circumstances in which Freya says she finally met an actual consultant.

An inquest decided that her baby, Oscar, died of natural causes. She says he died of neglect.

Another mother interviewed, Cat Hughes, went through a gruelling experience, too. She had her second child at another hospital and says the care there was vastly better. She believes the outcome could have been much worse for her and her daughter than it actually was. And that has had a lasting impact on her.

It is clear that the quality of maternity care at this hospital was not properly considered in the Lucy Letby trial. The Prosecution’s lead medical expert witness, Dr Dewi Evans, told presenter Stephanie Hegarty that he did not see the full maternity notes for any of the babies whose deaths were included in the Letby trial.

Had he done so, he would have had a fuller picture of their grave health before Letby supposedly tampered with their treatment. As it was, having decided her guilt, the Prosecution made no use of the notes, and so they were not disclosed to the Defence.

Ms Hegarty remarks that the parents featured in her investigation ‘were not part of that trial and never encountered Letby’. But that is not the point. The point is that in such a place, no serial killer would be needed to explain an alarming number of baby deaths.

The BBC put the mothers’ complaints to the Countess of Chester NHS Foundation Trust. In response, Sue Pemberton, the Deputy Chief Executive, says she apologises unreservedly to the families who’ve had a poor experience in their care. She says: ‘We note that the cases being discussed relate to maternity care between 2015 and 2020 and that if families feel their concerns have not been addressed, I would urge them to contact the Trust.’ She added that the Trust has made significant improvements and it is now nationally accredited for its ‘family-integrated care approach’.

And let us hope that this and many other hospitals have improved as a result of growing public concern with maternity services. It is astonishing that so many billions of pounds can be spent on an NHS that has so much trouble performing this most essential task. But it is even more astonishing that Lucy Letby, after all these months of revelations, still has not had the appeal she so plainly ought to have.