People struggle to believe evil Letby is a killer because she is banal, inquiry hears
The public struggle to believe Lucy Letby is a serial killer because “we prefer our monsters to look like monsters” even though “evil is banal”, a barrister representing the families of the babies said.
Richard Baker KC, who was speaking at the Thirlwall Inquiry, which is examining how the deaths could have been prevented, said on Thursday it was “naive” to think that someone who chooses to work in a caring profession cannot be a murderer.
Letby was convicted of the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of seven others while working as a nurse at the Countess of Chester Hospital between 2015 and 2016.
In recent months, there have been questions raised about Letby’s guilt from many scientists, doctors, nurses and statisticians.
But Mr Baker said people questioning the verdict “should be ashamed of themselves” for “recklessly promoting conspiracy theories”.
“Evil can be banal,” he said. “We prefer our monsters to look like monsters, to be easy to identify and to be far removed from ourselves.
“It creates a profound cognitive dissonance. Many monsters do not fit a stereotype. It is sometimes hard to accept.
“The cognitive biases who see a young woman working in a caring profession and cannot conceive of a darkness that may lay beneath the surface.
“But we should not be so naive. To be successful, a serial killer must hide in plain sight.”
He pointed out that Harold Shipman had been regarded as a “diligent and caring doctor” until the truth was known, and said that many “superficially or apparently normal individuals” had turned out to be monsters.
Peter Skelton KC, who is representing the parents of children A, B, I, L, M, N and Q, also addressed the ongoing speculation that Letby may be the victim of a miscarriage of justice.
“Letby was not convicted on the basis of questionable statistics but because the factual and expert medical evidence demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that she had harmed children at the hospital,” he said.
Consultants have been criticised for not telling the coroner or police that they believed Letby was deliberately harming babies.
On the third day of the hearing, the inquiry was told how investigations into deaths were hampered by the hospital’s “unwillingness to think the unthinkable”.
In a written opening, Andrew Kennedy KC, said that until March 2016, the hospital had been looking for a “clinical explanation” for a rise in death rates.
“It is important to keep in mind the realities of medical practice in a busy acute hospital,” he said.
“Whilst periods of elevated morbidity and mortality will occur from time to time, instances of deliberate harm by healthcare staff are exceedingly rare.
“When a period of elevated mortality is observed, its cause is therefore highly likely to be a product of random variation in outcomes, due to clinical factors, or insofar as it relates to staff, not rooted in criminality.
“Accordingly, the Countess of Chester submits that it was reasonable to initially look for clinical causes to explain the increase in deaths and collapses observed on the neonatal ward.”
The inquiry was also told there were concerns about Letby’s time at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, where she worked in 2012 and 2015.
An audit of her time there, showed that dislodgement of endotracheal (breathing) tubes occurred on 40 per cent of shifts that Letby was working – despite dislodgement usually happening on fewer than one per cent of all shifts.
Cheshire Police is currently also investigating whether babies were harmed at Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust.
03:01 PM BST
Inquiry finished for the day
The inquiry will resume at 10am on Friday morning when it will hear opening statements from the representatives of management at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
Here is a summary of what the inquiry heard today:
Consultants were criticised for not telling authorities about Letby suspicions.
The victims’ lawyer addressed claims about Letby miscarriage of justice.
Richard Baker KC said: “We prefer our monsters to look like monsters”.
People questioning Letby verdict ‘should be ashamed of themselves’ said victims’ lawyer.
Investigations were hampered by the hospital’s unwillingness to ‘think the unthinkable’.
Concerns were raised about Letby’s time in Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
Countess of Chester hospital was considerably understaffed.
Justice Thirlwall will consider recommending CCTV be installed on units.
02:55 PM BST
Bullying culture stifled whistleblowers, inquiry hears
The Thirlwall Inquiry has resumed hearing from representatives of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
Barrister Robert Cohen said that it was clear that there had been failings to learn from past patient safety scandals in the NHS.
The barrister said that ‘incurious’ and ‘defensive’ boards coupled with ‘bullying behaviour’ had created a culture where it was not easy for whistleblowers to speak up.
He said: “The Department accepts that recent investigations such as the independent review of maternity services at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust and the independent investigation into maternity and neonatal services in East Kent demonstrate a failure to learn from past incidents.
“The new Secretary of State has acknowledged that in the past recommendations have been made but action has not been taken. That is not good enough. The system must change.
“The Secretary of State has spoken candidly describing how the NHS is broken.
“Getting it back on its feet and building an NHS that is fit for the future is the mission of the Government.”
02:25 PM BST
Recap of what the inqury heard this morning
Here is a brief recap of what the inquiry heard this morning:
Consultants have been criticised for not telling the coroner or police that they believed Lucy Letby was deliberately harming babies
People struggle to think of Letby as a serial killer because “we prefer our monsters to look like monsters”, the inquiry has heard
Richard Baker KC said people questioning the verdict “should be ashamed of themselves” for “recklessly promoting conspiracy theories”
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has accepted that it was wrong not to suspend Lucy Letby’s registration after she was arrested by police in 2018
02:21 PM BST
Inquiry resumes
The inquiry has resumed after a short lunch break.
01:26 PM BST
Inquiry breaks for lunch
The inquiry has broken for lunch and will resume at 2.15pm.
01:26 PM BST
Justice Thirlwall will consider recommending CCTV be installed on units, inquiry hears
The barrister for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has been reflecting on whether CCTV should be installed in all neonatal units to protect infants.
Lady Justice Thirlwall has previously said she will consider making a recommendation for video cameras to be placed in all units.
However Fiona Scolding KC, representing the RCPCH, said: “If CCTV surveillance in a paediatric ward to be introduced it would need to be seen as a pressing requirement and to be supported by clear evidence of benefit given that it would lead to significant intrusion into the the child and the family’s right to privacy at what we have already described as a particularly difficult time in their lives.”
01:15 PM BST
Countess of Chester hospital considerably understaffed, inquiry hears
The inquiry is hearing from a barrister representing the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) which carried out a review into the spike in baby deaths at the Countess of Chester.
Fiona Scolding KC, said that the review found “considerable understaffing both of doctors and nurses” as well as insufficient consultant presence to safely cover the paediatric wards as well as a lack of junior and trainee doctors.
The review found the unit only “partially adhered to a culture of safety”.
“The review also revealed that the management team of the hospital had not realised how busy the neonatal unit was and only identified this when it reviewed the data,” added Ms Scolding.
However the barrister said that the review should have been halted when concerns about Letby were raised by the consultants, and accepted that the Royal College should have informed the police.
The programme director of the review said that the situation “reminded him of Grantham,” where Beverley Allitt had murdered children.
12:51 PM BST
The Nursing and Midwifery Council accepts it was wrong not to suspend Letby
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has accepted that it was wrong not to suspend Lucy Letby’s registration after she was arrested by police in 2018.
The inquiry has heard how the NMC waited until Letby was charged in November 2020 to bring in an interim suspension order.
She was not finally struck off the nursing register until December last year.
The barrister representing the NMC accepted that the body should have been more “curious” about the circumstances surrounding Letby’s arrest.
12:46 PM BST
What to expect from the Lucy Letby Thirlwall Inquiry
The public inquiry into baby deaths at the Countess of Chester Hospital where Lucy Letby worked will begin on Tuesday, September 10.
The statutory inquiry - which will be led by Lady Justice Thirlwall - was ordered by Steve Barclay, the former health secretary, last August after neonatal nurse Letby was convicted of the murders of seven newborns and the attempted murder of six others.
Earlier this year she was also convicted of the attempted murder of a seventh infant.
12:15 PM BST
Concerns raised about Letby’s time in Liverpool Women’s Hospital, inquiry hears
The inquiry heard there were concerns about Lucy Letby’s time at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, where she worked in 2012 and 2015.
An audit of her time there, showed that dislodgement of endotracheal (breathing) tubes occurred on 40 per cent of shifts that Letby was working - despite dislodgement usually happening on fewer than one per cent of all shifts.
Cheshire Police is currently also investigating whether babies were harmed at Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust.
12:06 PM BST
Investigations hampered by hospital’s unwillingness to ‘think the unthinkable’
Internal investigations into baby deaths at the Countess of Chester were hampered by the hospital’s “unwillingness to think the unthinkable”, the inquiry has heard.
In a written opening statement, Andrew Kennedy KC, who is representing the hospital, admitted that the executives had failed to give appropriate weight to concerns raised about Letby by paediatricians.
However he said that until March 2016, the hospital had been looking for a “clinical explanation” for a rise in death rates.
He said: “It is important to keep in mind the realities of medical practice in a busy acute hospital.
“Whilst periods of elevated morbidity and mortality will occur from time-to-time, instances of deliberate harm by healthcare staff are exceedingly rare.
“When a period of elevated mortality is observed, its cause is therefore highly likely to be a product of random variation in outcomes, due to clinical factors, or insofar as it relates to staff, not rooted in criminality.
“Accordingly, the Countess of Chester submits that it was reasonable to initially look for clinical causes to explain the increase in deaths and collapses observed on the neonatal ward.”
11:37 AM BST
People questioning Letby verdict ‘should be ashamed of themselves’, inquiry hears
In recent months, there have been questions raised about Letby’s guilt but Richard Baker KC said people questioning the verdict “should be ashamed of themselves” for “recklessly promoting conspiracy theories”.
He pointed out that Harold Shipman had been regarded as a “diligent and caring doctor” until the truth was known, and said that many “superficially or apparently normal individuals had turned out to be monsters”.
Mr Baker said that the ultimate goal of the families is to ensure that their experiences are not repeated.
11:29 AM BST
We prefer our monsters to look like monsters, inquiry hears
People struggle to think of Lucy Letby as a serial killer because “we prefer our monsters to look like monsters”, the inquiry has heard.
Richard Baker KC, who is representing the families of some of the babies, said it was “naive” to think that someone who chooses to work in a caring profession cannot be a murderer.
“Evil can be banal,” he said. “We prefer our monsters to look like monsters, to be easy to identify and to be far removed from ourselves.”
“It creates a profound cognitive dissonance. Many monsters do not fit a stereotype. It is sometimes hard to accept.
“The cognitive biases who see a young woman working in a caring profession and cannot conceive of a darkness that may lay beneath the surface.
“But we should not be so naive. To be successful a serial killer must hide in plain sight.”
10:48 AM BST
Lawyer of victims addresses claims about Letby miscarriage of justice
Peter Skelton KC - who is representing the parents of children A, B, I, L, M, N and Q - has addressed the ongoing speculation that Lucy Letby may be the victim of a miscarriage of justice.
Mr Skelton urged members of the public to read the Court of Appeal Judgement.
He said: “Lucy Letby was not convicted on the basis of questionable statistics but because the factual and expert medical evidence demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that she had harmed children at the hospital.”
Speaking to Lady Justice Thirlwall he added: “You are investigating those that worked with her, those that knew her and ultimately those who suspected that she was committing murder.
“Those witnesses who give evidence to you will be seeking to explain why those suspicions arose and why she was not caught sooner.
“That, not Letby, must now be the focus of everyone’s attention.”
10:33 AM BST
Consultants criticised for not telling authorities about Letby suspicions, inquiry hears
Consultants have been criticised for not telling the coroner or police that they believed Letby was deliberately harming babies.
Peter Skelton KC - who is representing the parents of children A, B, I, L, M, N and Q - said that although the doctors reacted with “tenacity and courage” they had opportunities to blow the whistle which they did not take.
“The consultants were in a position to initiate robust and comprehensive investigations of the deaths and collapse on the unit, but did not do so,” said Mr Skelton.
“Most critically, as soon as they suspected Letby to be harming babies deliberately, they should have articulated that clearly and formally in writing.
“The consultants should have gone to the coroner or spoken to the police.
“A key example of this failure, you may feel, was the inquest into the death of Child A which took place before the coroner on Oct 10 2016.
“At that inquest, hospital staff including Dr Jayaram gave evidence under oath, but for reasons that will require justification, when they gave evidence no one told the coroner there had been a concerning cluster of deaths at the hospital, that this was being investigated, and most critically, that there was concern that a member of staff is involved and was harming babies deliberately.”
10:12 AM BST
Inquiry enters third day
It’s day three of the Thirlwall Inquiry and it is expected to hear opening statements from representatives of the families of the babies, the Countess of Chester, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH).
The inquiry has begun by hearing from lawyers representing the families who are setting out “briefly and bluntly what went wrong”.
They warn that “vital information was overlooked with fatal consequences for other children”.
