Lucy Letby’s conviction is being reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, after judges rejected the baby murderer’s bids to challenge her several convictions
The police force that investigated Lucy Letby has hit back at those “attempting to destroy reputations” after a former Tory cabinet minister made claims about officers.
MP Sir David Davis had sensationally claimed detectives ignored signs the medical unit Letby worked in was failing and “cherrypicked” statistics to use against her before calling for a retrial on her convictions for murder and attempted murder during a parliamentary debate in the House of Commons on Thursday.
Cheshire Constabulary today released a statement in response and maintained it remains “confident in the integrity of the investigation”. The statement said: “Cheshire Constabulary strongly refutes all the points made during the adjournment debate. It implied impropriety on the part of Cheshire Constabulary where none whatsoever has been established, reports The Mirror.
“We remain confident in the integrity of the investigation, the conduct of the prosecution, and the decisions reached by the courts. Over the past two years, the force has come under constant criticism and has been intensely scrutinised and subject to unpleasant opinion from a core group of individuals who appear to pride themselves on spreading misinformation, making baseless claims and attempting to destroy reputations.
“While scrutiny of policing is legitimate and welcome, it is essential that such scrutiny is grounded in fact and does not inadvertently cut across due process, ongoing legal considerations, or the independence of the judiciary. The constant noise surrounding this case, inaccurate or partial information being presented as fact and attempts to hijack the perceived narrative risk undermining public confidence not only in this case, but in the wider criminal justice system.”
Letby, 36, from Hereford, is serving 15 whole-life orders after being convicted of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others between June 2015 and June 2016. The babies were attacked by various means while Letby worked as a nurse on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
Sir David had told fellow MPs he would write to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to call for a review into the conduct of the force, having previously branded the case “one of the major injustices of modern times”. The former Brexit Secretary also called for the force to release a series of documents, including investigators’ policy books and decision books, records of identified lines of inquiry and minutes from meetings.
He added the case had been reviewed privately by ex-Assistant Chief Constable Dr Steve Watts and ex-Det Supt Stuart Clifton, who believed Letby guilty until they examined “the hard facts”. And he told MPs both men, who helped him analyse the case, now believe her to be the victim of a “serious miscarriage of justice”.
Letby’s conviction is separately being reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), after judges rejected Letby’s bids to challenge her convictions. The case was the focus of a high-profile Netflix documentary last month, which included footage of her being interviewed by detectives.
She was seen telling them she felt “it was all spiralling out of control” when they quizzed her about the babies’ murders. Officers had found notes she wrote then stashed in a black bin liner at home which read: “Murderer”, “Murder”, “I am evil”, “I did this”, “I killed them” and “I am a horrible evil person”. Letby said she wrote them as “everything had got on top of me”.
The scribblings were used during her trial by the prosecution, who claimed they were a form of confession. Her defence said she was told to write down her feelings and her faults as a form of therapy after being given counselling at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
Letby also wrote: “Not good enough”, “Why me?”, “I haven’t done anything wrong”. After her arrest she said “no comment” to many of the cops’ questions, but did open up when she was quizzed about the notes. She said: “I just wrote it because everything had got on top of me.
“It was when I found out I’d been removed from the unit. I felt like they were blaming my practice. That I might have hurt [the babies] without knowing… I was blaming myself, but not because I’d done anything – because of the way people were making me feel.
“I felt like I’d only done my best for those babies and then people were trying to say my practice wasn’t good… I just couldn’t cope with it. I did just not wanna be here any more. I felt it was all spiralling out of control. I just didn’t know how to feel about it.”
The programme also told how Letby emailed officers in charge of the investigation to say: “I am happy to be contacted if you wish to discuss anything.” But she was less forthcoming in the interviews themselves. When told 887 babies had been treated at the neonatal unit since she left and none had died or deteriorated, she replied: “No comment.”
Cheshire Constabulary today added: “Public confidence is best served by evidence-based discussion and responsible commentary – not ill-informed personal opinions and inaccurate details. We are committed to victim-focused justice, public confidence and the rule of law. Our thoughts remain with the families of the babies, who have always been at the heart of this case.”
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