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A public inquiry into the circumstances that allowed Lucy Letby to repeatedly harm and murder infants is set to have its findings released later on Tuesday. The Thirlwall Inquiry was established to investigate events at the Countess of Chester Hospital during 2015 and 2016, focusing on Letby’s time as a nurse in the neonatal unit. Now 36, Letby is serving multiple whole-life sentences for the deaths of seven babies and attempted murders of seven others, including one infant she tried to kill on two separate occasions.
Although the inquiry did not assess Letby’s guilt, its primary purpose was to examine how the hospital responded to concerns about her conduct and whether there were missed opportunities to intervene sooner. A critical aspect under review is whether earlier intervention might have saved lives or prevented injuries to the babies under her care. Letby was transferred from clinical duties to an administrative role in July 2016 after consultants raised concerns to the hospital executives. However, the inquiry has probed whether warning signs should have been detected earlier, particularly after the deaths of three infants in rapid succession in June 2015.
The investigation, led by Lady Justice Thirlwall, one of the nation’s most senior judges, took six months to gather evidence and involved scrutinizing thousands of documents at a cost exceeding £18.5 million. Preliminary expectations suggest the report will highlight significant safeguarding failures and propose recommendations for reforms across the NHS. The chairwoman of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which holds the authority to refer Letby’s case back to the Court of Appeal, has indicated that the commission will carefully review the inquiry’s conclusions. Letby has previously been refused permission to appeal her convictions twice.
Letby’s defense lawyer, Mark McDonald, told BBC Newsnight that he had submitted nearly 30 expert reports to the CCRC challenging the integrity of the convictions, describing it as more evidence than in any other case the commission has reviewed. “If she is innocent, as I believe, as 30-odd experts believe, then everything that has gone before the inquiry and every recommendation has operated on the wrong premise,” McDonald said. The inquiry itself began in September 2024, concluding evidence collection in March 2025. Although originally expected to publish its findings in November 2025, the date has been delayed multiple times. This postponement has also pushed back the inquests into the babies’ deaths to May 2027.
In July 2025, three former senior staff members from the Countess of Chester Hospital were arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. These individuals were part of the hospital’s leadership team during 2015 and 2016 and remain on police bail. Their arrests followed a police investigation into potential corporate manslaughter opened by Cheshire Police in 2023, which was later expanded in March 2025 to include gross negligence manslaughter. Additionally, one of the former staff members was re-arrested in April on suspicion of perverting the course of justice, although no charges have been filed
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