Letby plans to launch fresh appeal with new legal team

Child serial killer Lucy Letby is planning to launch a third appeal with a new legal team, her barrister has revealed.

- TOM WATLING

The former nurse was convicted of the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of seven others, with two attempts on one child, when she worked on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016.

After two trials, Letby is serving 15 whole-life sentences. She is only the fourth woman in UK history to be told she will never be released from prison. In May, Letby lost her Court of Appeal bid to challenge her convictions from last year.

In the latest development, the BBC reported that her new barrister, Mark McDonald, told Radio 4’s File On 4 programme that he plans to make an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) for Letby’s case to be sent back to the Court of Appeal.

“I knew almost from the start, following this trial, that there is a strong case that she is innocent,” he told the programme. The fact is juries get it wrong. And yes, so do the Court of Appeal, history teaches us that.”

A public inquiry examining events at the Countess of Chester Hospital following Letby’s multiple convictions is due to begin on 10 September in Liverpool.