Everything you need to know about the Lucy Letby inquiry

Families of babies murdered by Lucy Letby say they are "full of hope but an awful lot of anxiety" as an inquiry opens into what happened at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

Events leading to the murder of seven babies by the neonatal nurse at the hospital between June 2015 and June 2016 will be examined at the Thirlwall Inquiry in Liverpool, which starts on Tuesday.

Letby, 34, is only the fourth woman in UK history to be told she will never be released from prison after she was sentenced to 15 whole-life orders following her conviction for seven murders and six attempted murders.

Her long and drawn-out trial ended in August 2023, after jurors sat through 145 days of “gruelling” evidence in court – the culmination of a six-year investigation by Cheshire Police.

A retrial over a single attempted murder charge in July 2024 found Letby guilty of the attempted murder of a seventh baby just hours after she was born.

The nurse protested her innocence throughout and a number of medical experts and former minister David Davis have expressed concern over inadequacies in evidence and the safety of her conviction.

Letby's new barrister, Mark McDonald, is making an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) for her case to be sent back to the Court of Appeal.

When is the Letby inquiry and why is it not being livestreamed?

The Thirlwall Inquiry is set to begin at Liverpool Town Hall on Tuesday 10 September. Its purpose is to understand what could have been done at Countess of Chester Hospital to prevent the deaths of the seven babies at the hands of Letby.

Lawyers for the families had argued that the inquiry should be livestreamed to the public to prevent the spread of “grossly offensive” conspiracy theories.

However, in a ruling published in May, chair of the inquiry Lady Justice Thirlwall said the proceedings would not be broadcast live because of the risk of breaching court orders that prevent the identification of a number of people involved, including all of the babies.

"Not only is there a significant risk to the inquiry itself, I take account of the human cost of a breach. For a parent, who has already suffered so much, to be identified online is unthinkable," she said.

However, the hearings will be held in public and those involved in the inquiry, including the families and media, will be able to apply to watch remotely over live links.

Rejecting the argument that a publicly available live broadcast would “reduce or dispel toxic and offensive conspiracy theories”, Lady Justice Thirlwall said: "Searching for truth is not a characteristic of conspiracy theorists. Like those who promulgate fake news, they search for information which supports their world view. When they find none, they manufacture it, often using and distorting video footage to be found on the internet.”

Why is there an inquiry?

The Thirlwall Inquiry has been set up to "examine events at the Countess of Chester Hospital and their implications following the trial, and subsequent convictions" of Letby.

Opening the inquiry in November, Lady Justice Thirlwall said: "The parents of the babies who were murdered or suffered injuries, some life-long, live with the consequences every day.

"On top of their grievous loss, they endured years of uncertainty about what had caused death or injury. For some, uncertainty remains. All have made it plain to me that they want to do all they can to make sure no one else suffers as they do."

She said with the help of the inquiry team, she would "do all I can to make sure that no-one else suffers as they have".

The government said the inquiry aims to "ensure vital lessons are learned and provide answers to the parents and families".

On Monday, Tamlin Bolton, a solicitor who represents the families of six of Letby's victims, told BBC Breakfast: “It’s really difficult for a lot of them. They’re all dealing with this enormous ongoing tragedy.

“For those of them that have surviving children, they’re now eight or nine years old and there is going to come a point where they have to explain all of the events of almost the past 10 years to them.

“They’re full of a lot of hope but an awful lot of anxiety about what they’re now going to hear – that they still don’t fully know and they still don’t fully understand the picture of what happened to their babies at that time.”

In a separate interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Bolton said: “The families are devastated by the reporting at the moment."

What the inquiry will look at?

The inquiry will investigate three broad areas. Firstly, the experiences of the Countess of Chester Hospital and other relevant NHS services; the parents; and the babies named in the case.

Secondly, the conduct of those working at the hospital, including the board, managers, doctors, nurses and midwives with regard to the actions of Letby while working as a neonatal nurse.

Questions will be asked over whether suspicions should have been raised earlier, whether Letby should have been suspended earlier and whether the police and other external bodies should have been informed sooner.

The inquiry team will also look at responses to concerns raised about Letby from managers within the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and whether the trust's culture, management and governance could have contributed to a failure to protect the babies from Letby.

The third main line of inquiry will be the effectiveness of NHS management, governance and processes, and external security and professional regulation in keeping babies in the hospital safe and well looked after.

Members of the inquiry team will try to find out whether any changes are needed in these areas and, if so, what they should be including how accountability of senior managers could be strengthened, and whether there any issues of NHS culture played a part in the tragedy.

Bolton, who represents the families of six victims, said there are "still gaps" in their understanding of what happened at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

She told BBC Breakfast: “The duty of candour between the hospital and the parents is one of the key issues of the inquiry.

“For a number of the parents, they weren’t even aware that their children had suffered any kind of collapses or incidents on that unit until they were contacted by the police."

What the inquiry will not look at?

The Thirlwall Inquiry will "not review the jury’s verdicts and will make no findings regarding liability in civil proceedings", the government said on its website after agreeing on the scope of the probe.

Unlike proceedings in court, an inquiry is not adversarial. Instead, it is an inquisitorial process meaning it cannot determine criminal or civil liability.

It can, however, highlight failings where they have occurred and make recommendations on how to prevent them in the future.

The inquiry will not hear evidence from Letby herself or her legal representatives. A list of core participants can be found here.

Lucy Letby's conviction

Former cabinet minister David Davis previously said he will take advantage of his parliamentary privilege after the summer recess to look at the evidence surrounding Letby's conviction.

Speaking to The Independent in July, the former Brexit minister under Theresa May said: “With a lot of people claiming a mistrial including statisticians, nurses and senior medics, as well as reports of people being warned off giving evidence, it is clear we need to look at it quite closely.”

Nadine Dorries a former nurse and ex-Tory cabinet minister, also urged justice secretary Shabana Mahmood to "become involved" in the case.

Writing for the Daily Mail, Dorries said she had a "growing unease” over the evidence, arguing the “perilous state of maternity and neonatal care” in hospitals was “a factor too easily dismissed by the court”.

Some other questions raised about the Letby case - including no medical experts being called to challenge the prosecution's case - can be found here in an article published by The Independent, and inthis investigation published by the Guardian.

Just days before the opening of the Thirlwall Inquiry, Letby's barrister Mark McDonald has said that she is planning to launch a fresh appeal with a new legal team.