Lucy Letby – latest: Killer nurse’s lawyers seek fresh appeal after claiming expert witness ‘changed mind’

Katie Wheatley, head of crime and regulatory at Bindmans, reacted to the Lucy Letby press conference this afternoon. She said: “Usually when there has been an unsuccessful appeal at the Court of Appeal, even if fresh evidence comes to light, the convicted person seeking to appeal has to refer their case to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) and the CCRC will decide whether to refer the case back to the Court of Appeal.

“Due to the CCRC’s heavy caseload, decisions can take months if not years. The CCRC has power to investigate and gather material before reaching a decision.”

Ms Wheatley said that the CCRC will refer a case back to the Court of Appeal if “there is a real possibility that the conviction will be overturned”.

A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said: “Two juries and three appeal court judges have reviewed a multitude of different strands of evidence against Lucy Letby.

“She has been convicted on 15 separate counts following two separate jury trials.

“In May, the Court of Appeal dismissed Letby’s leave to appeal on all grounds – rejecting her argument that expert prosecution evidence was flawed.”

Private Eye’s medical correspondent Dr Phil Hammond posted on X: “Baby O is the case the police chose to show Dewi Evans at the very start of his investigation. Baby O is the case Dewi Evans was certain showed deliberate harm to the liver within 10 minutes of looking at the notes.

“Baby O was the case that the prosecution made a central plank of their case, arguing Letby had come back from holiday thirsty for murder and hit Baby O in the liver.

“Now two practising Level 3 neonatologists with far more current and relevant expertise than anyone who gave evidence in the trial, have examined the notes in meticulous detail and concluded that Baby O’s liver damage was a combination of over-inflation of the lungs, pushing the liver down, and a needle inappropriately inserted too high on the right-hand side puncturing the liver and causing a documented fall in haemoglobin.

Taking over Letby’s lawyer Mark McDonald said some of his team of international medical experts are “working day and night” to draft reports.

“Not one of them is being paid,” he says. “They’re doing it because they feel that something has gone wrong.

“And if I can draw an analogy, it’s probably not the best analogy, it’s almost like a Post Office master pleading guilty to a crime they haven’t committed because they got told the software was accurate, and now they’re told it’s not.”

The press conference has concluded.

Medical expert Dr Richard Taylor said: “Nursing is an altruistic profession. You don’t go into it for the money but to help others and that applies to her.

“She has no past history of any antisocial behaviour, any criminal behaviour, any psychiatric problems at all.

“There is no motive. Her friends are all completely astounded, flabbergasted by the accusations. That brought up red flags for me.

“What is the evidence here? You go further into it and the evidence is based on really one expert witness a paediatrician who retired 15 years from clinical practice who actively volunteered his services to the CPS when he discovered there was an inquiry going on.”

Medical expert Dr Richard Taylor said he would be “unable to sleep at night” if he was the doctor that incorrectly injected a baby in their liver and Letby is sitting in prison for their failings.

He said Baby O died from shock from a liver perforation not being injected with air as the prosecution claims.

He said: “The needle perforated the liver. The baby was still being ventilated with the needle in the liver. The liver was now being lacerated by the needle. This led to bleeding… into the abdomen. The baby went into shock.

“They were unable to resuscitate the baby, partly because they didn’t realise what they’d done.”

Refusing to name the doctor, he said: “The doctor knows who they are. I have to say from a personal point of view that if this had happened to me, I would be unable to sleep at night knowing that what I had done had led to the death of a baby and now there is a nurse in jail convicted of murder.”

He added his surprise this didn’t come out in court or in an autopsy.

Mark McDonald says he has done the press conference announcing the appeal with the full consent of his client Lucy Letby.

Asked how she is feeling, he replies: “How would you feel? You are a 34-year-old woman sentenced to life in prison without any hope and suddenly we have found such profound and significant evidence that it may possibly overturn your convictions.

“I will leave it to you to decide how you would feel about that?”

Taking questions, barrister Mark McDonald is asked if taking this to the Court of Appeal is unprecedented and how much confidence he has it will be successful.

In response, he says, “it is unprecedented”.

“This is not fresh evidence. This is the lead prosecution expert who has changed his mind and the Court of Appeal may not have been told the accurate picture as a result.

“That in itself makes it unique that they need to relook at what they have decided already.”