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A senior consultant paediatrician who attempted to alert hospital management about Lucy Letby’s suspicious behavior has described the final inquiry report as “grim reading” during an interview with the BBC. Dr. John Gibbs, who was employed at the Countess of Chester Hospital during the 2015-2016 period in which Letby was responsible for the deaths of seven infants and the attempted murders of seven others on the neonatal unit, reflected on the findings with a sense of regret.
Dr. Gibbs acknowledged that the consultant group shared “collective” responsibility for some of the shortcomings highlighted in the report. “I wish we consultants had been brave enough to follow our suspicions and escalate things to the police earlier,” he admitted. He took personal accountability as well, stating, “When I say, ‘we consultants,’ I am responsible as well and if my other consultant colleagues didn’t go to the police, I should have.” The Thirlwall Inquiry, established following Letby’s 2023 conviction, released its comprehensive 822-page report on Tuesday. Lady Justice Thirlwall condemned the hospital for a “complete failure to protect babies,” while the investigation revealed that police should have been informed sooner and that managerial staff had repeatedly ignored concerns raised by consultants.
On discussing the report’s impact for the first time, Gibbs acknowledged the emotional difficulty for all involved: “I wasn’t expecting it to be an easy read and it certainly isn’t. I’d imagine it’s an extremely difficult read for the parents of the babies concerned.” Reflecting on his testimony to the inquiry, he expressed remorse, “I feel we failed the babies and I apologise to the families for that.” Highlighting the period after Letby was removed from the unit but before police involvement, Gibbs described a fraught atmosphere marked by tension and stress in interactions with management. He accused hospital executives of trying to convince medical staff that Letby had been wrongly suspected.
Gibbs also discussed specific lapses within the medical team, referring to an incident in August 2015 when a doctor overlooked blood test results indicating a baby had been poisoned with insulin. He explained that while the failure partly lay with the colleague who missed the significance of the lab results, it was ultimately a shared responsibility among the team. “Others of us were on call and covering the neonatal unit over the next week or two before the baby moved out of the unit. We all had the opportunity to review the notes,” he stated. Letby received 15 whole-life sentences for her crimes and has twice been refused permission to appeal her conviction. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), an independent body that investigates possible miscarriages of justice, is currently reviewing her case.
Following Letby’s conviction, a wave of conspiracy theories and debate among academics and experts arose. Dr. Gibbs revealed that the ongoing claims of her innocence were difficult for him and other consultants to endure. “I particularly find the misinformation that’s on the internet is difficult to deal with,” he said. Nevertheless, he reaffirmed his belief in Letby’s guilt but stressed that the review of the conviction evidence by the CCRC is important given the “calibre of some of the people who’ve raised concerns.”
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