Letby NHS boss ran Cornwall's hospitals

THE former NHS chief executive at the centre of concerns that hospital bosses ignored warnings about serial killer Lucy Letby was briefly in charge of Cornwall's hospitals after leaving the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

- LEE TREWHELA

Tony Chambers who has said he will fully cooperate with any post-trial inquiry was interim chief executive of Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust (RCHT) for just five months from August 2021, three years after he stepped down from his role in Chester shortly after the arrest of Letby. Questions are now being asked about the Cornish trust's recruiting process.

Letby was found guilty last week of murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital. The nurse was also found guilty of attempting to murder another six babies. She was sentenced yesterday and given a whole-life order due to the seriousness of the offences.

The Government has ordered an independent inquiry into the circumstances behind Letby's crimes. A BBC investigation found that hospital bosses ignored doctors' warnings about Letby. The hospital also delayed calling the police, despite months of warnings that the nurse may have been killing babies.