Lucy Letby – latest: Killer’s new barrister says anger must be redirected if found innocent ahead of inquiry

Tamlin Bolton, who represents the families of six victims, has described the speculation as “upsetting” for all of her clients.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday, the solicitor said: “The families are devastated by the reporting at the moment. It is the families that are going through this, continuing to go through this in its enormity and sincerity.

“They are the ones still raising children now, who will have to explain to them one day exactly what happened to them as children or their siblings on that unit … If you are going to give an expert opinion on something and hold yourself out as an expert, it’s really important that you have all of the information before you make that declaration or you give that opinion.

“Because anything else outside of that is simply speculation and it would be unfortunate to fall prey to the same trap that you are being critical of when you reference the jury’s decision and the decision of the Court of Appeal.”

Chair Lady Justice Thirlwall

Lady Justice Thirlwall is a senior Court of Appeal judge. On 4 September 2023 she was appointed to chair the inquiry into the events at the Countess of Chester hospital by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

She was the Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales from December 2019 and had significant responsibility for the response of the judiciary to the Covid pandemic.

Counsel to the Inquiry – Rachel Langdale KC

Rachel Langdale KC is Head of Chambers at 7BR, where she specialises in undertaking Children law cases (public, private and international), Judicial Review and Public Inquiry work. She was appointed as a Queen’s Counsel in 2009, a Bencher of the Middle Temple in 2011 and was a member of the Bar Council Ethics Committee for many years, including chairing that Committee between 2017-2020.

Solicitor to the Inquiry – Tim Suter

Tim Suter is a partner at Fieldfisher LLP. He has extensive experience of advising on independent inquiries, investigations and inquests. Tim recently acted as the solicitor to Manchester Arena Inquiry. He has also previously acted as solicitor to the Hillsborough Inquests and Birmingham 1974 pub bombings Inquests and as deputy solicitor to the inquests into the London Bombings of 7 July 2005 and the public inquiry into the death of the Russian dissident, Alexander Litvinenko.

More from parents of babies attacked by Letby who have voiced their anger over the speculation growing over the killer’s convictions.

One couple told the Sunday Times: “It is infuriating to hear some people say, ‘I just have a feeling she hasn’t done anything.’ Serial killers often hide in plain sight — that’s how they manage to go undetected. They blend in and manipulate those around them. It is deeply disrespectful to the prosecution, defence, judge, and jury — who dedicated nearly a year of their lives to fulfilling their public duty with care and diligence. They took the necessary time to carefully consider all the evidence before reaching their verdicts.

“We have seen all the comments circulating on social media and in the mainstream news, and we find them both hurtful and distasteful.”

As Lucy Letby’s new legal team prepares to launch a fresh appeal over the killer’s convictions, we hear from a person who reported on the harrowing evidence in the first trial.

Nigel Bunyan heard from parents, doctors and nurses impacted by the suffering inflicted by Letby.

As the campaign to overturn Lucy Letby’s convictions grows, unsavoury focus has turned on some of those who gave evidence against her.

A medical witness who gave evidence for the prosecution was allegedly attacked by a member of the public with “pro-Lucy Letby beliefs”, the Sunday Times reported at the weekend.

Cheshire Police has since confirmed it is investigating.

A spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we are aware of an assault involving one of the witnesses from the Lucy Letby case and an investigation into the incident is underway.”

The publication also reported on another medical witness who had been targeted on social media by those doubting Letby’s guilt. They said they were also considering referring the matter to police.

As Sir David Davis adds to the chorus of voices raising concerns about the conviction of ‘killer nurse’ Lucy Letby, former commissioner at the Criminal Cases Review Commission, David James Smith, wrote a piece for us on how seriously they should be taken:

A solicitor representing the families of six victims who died at the Countess of Chester Hospital said her clients feel there are “still gaps” in their understanding of what happened.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Tamlin Bolton said: “The duty of candour between the hospital and the parents is one of the key issues of the (Lucy Letby) inquiry. How they were told about what had happened to their children, when they were told and when they should have been informed.

“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.

“So it’s really important that that’s made clear to them and they can see the full picture, the full story of what happened, particularly given what we’d heard in the press following the criminal trial about the consultants’ efforts to try and raise their concerns about Letby.”

Ahead of a Thirlwall Inquiry into the baby deaths, being launched on Tuesday, statisticians, armchair detectives, politicians and criminal experts are among those demanding a fresh look at the evidence that convicted Letby to 15-whole life orders.

Here we cover the questions, including the confession, statistics and the cause of deaths:

Growing speculation and online conspiracy theories have caused upset for the families of Lucy Letby’s victims.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, the parents of two babies have spoken of their dismay.

The couple went to the eight-month trial in 2023 wheich saw Letby convicted of murdering seven babies.

They said: “Our family is deeply shocked by the ongoing speculation surrounding what is being referred to as a miscarriage of justice.

“Certain pieces of evidence being discussed in the media are grossly out of context and misrepresented. Misinformation is being circulated about what transpired in court. Having attended the trial ourselves, we are fully aware of what was said.”

They also question how people can support the killer despite not having a full understanding of all the evidence shared in court.

“This whole traumatic experience made us question humanity,” they said.

A solicitor representing the families of six victims of Lucy Letby said media speculation on Letby’s status and possible appeals in the future has been “upsetting” for all of her clients.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Tamlin Bolton said: “I can’t stress enough how upsetting that has been for all of the families that I represent.

“And they have thought about so many ways in which they can try to address that and deal with it and make sure they put their voice across. But of course they’re restricted by wanting to keep themselves confidential and private.

“So it’s a really difficult challenge for them to try and avoid social media, avoid the reporting about it.

“But when you have children that are now eight or nine years old, they are looking at TikTok, they’re looking at social media and there are people claiming that the harm that was caused to them or their sibling was not caused by somebody who’s been found guilty of those crimes by a jury and whose appeals have been exhausted, and the Court of Appeal have also said she remains guilty of these crimes.”