Title: Lucy Letby Inquiry: Midwife’s Trial Over Babies’ Deaths at County Durham NHS Trust
Tag: Crime-and-Law, Courts-and-Trials, United-Kingdom
Author: Nicola Slawson and Kate McCann
Published time: Thursday, March 18, 2025, 10:08 p.m.
Keywords: Lucy Letby, Lucy Dewurst, manslaughter, murder, midwife, babies, trial, inquiry, County Durham, NHS Trust, Supreme Court, Lord Chief Justice of England, Bayliss Commission.
Synopsis: A midwife, Lucy Letby (née Dewurst), stands accused of causing the deaths of seven babies and a child in the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital (under the management of the Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust) in 2015-2016 and the Royal Jubilee Maternity Hospital (under the management of the Countess of Chester NHS Foundation Trust) in 2015-2016 and 2018. The case has now been referred to the Supreme Court for preliminary issues to be decided by the Lord Chief Justice of England. Additionally, an inquiry has been approved by Parliament to investigate the management of the case up until now.
The midwife, represented by Mark Heywood QC, pleaded not guilty to a further charge of attempted murder. In response to concerns raised by breaches of police permission and radio transmissions by a TV crew from outside the court during the trial, Heywood QC asked for the case to be moved out of Merseyside and for a trial by video link instead. However, this was rejected by a judge.
The case is now in a state of pause as the Supreme Court prepares to decide on issues of legal privilege, oaths given by potential jurors, and whether relaxed rules for reporting on the trial up to the midwife’s plea may be extended to cover proceedings from the end of the prosecution’s case to the delivery of a verdict.
An inquiry is being launched to investigate the management of the case by the Supreme Court. Its purpose is to examine whether the correct processes were followed and any systemic or structural issues which need to be addressed. The inquiry is expected to be conducted by a former judge and run simultaneously with the criminal trial.
The trial has been moved to Preston Crown Court and is scheduled to resume on 22 March 2025. The inquiry is likely to commence in the autumn. The UK Government notes that the trial came to national prominence after it was reported that the senior investigating officer was a former senior investigator in the High Court decision of the Hillsborough football disaster.
Tag: Merseyside-Courts-and-Trials, County-Durham, NHS-Trust, Legal-Privilege, Oaths, Systemic-or-Structural-Issues, Supreme-Court, Inquiry.
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