Nurse Lucy Letby found guilty of murdering seven babies on neonatal unit

Published

1 year ago

August 18, 2023

admin

A nurse has been found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others while working on a hospital’s neonatal unit between June 2015 and June 2016.

Lucy Letby – who was in her mid-20s and working at the Countess of Chester Hospital at the time of the murders – is now the UK’s most prolific child killer of modern times.

She was found guilty by a series of partial verdicts, delivered several days apart, with the judge issuing reporting restrictions until the end of the trial.

Letby was also found guilty of seven counts of attempted murder, including two involving the same infant.

Read more: Live reaction from court

Letby cried during some of the verdicts, while families of her victims sobbed and comforted each other as the jury read out its findings. One member of the jury also cried and held her head in her hands.

She was also found not guilty of two charges of attempted murder. The jury was unable to reach verdicts on six further counts of attempted murder.

Letby’s mother, Susan, broke down sobbing as her daughter was led away from the dock after the first set of verdicts, whispering “you can’t be serious, this can’t be right,” into her husband’s arms.

Neither Letby nor her parents were in court as the trial came to a close today.

During a later set of verdicts, Letby refused to come up from the cells, and was found guilty of more murders in her absence.

All of the children have been granted anonymity, although their names were read out in the courtroom during the nine-month trial.

Two of her victims, known as Child L and M, were twin brothers.

They had been born prematurely and were just days old when Letby tried to kill them within hours of each other, in April 2016.

Speaking publicly for the very first time, the boys’ parents described the killer nurse as acting “very cool and calm” after trying to murder Child M with an injection of excessive air.

“At that time, her body language and her behaviour totally changed,” the twins’ mother said.

“She was very annoyed with us. She thought that ‘I couldn’t kill your baby’.”

Exclusive: Mother fears Letby attacked her baby too

‘I had to listen to her lie and lie and lie’

The boys’ father said he broke down as he watched doctors trying to resuscitate Child M on the ward, “pumping his heart like a rag doll”.

“We were first-time parents, we didn’t know what was going on,” he said. Neither parent suspected Lucy Letby at the time.

Both Child M and Child L, who Letby tried to poison with insulin, survived the assaults.

But Child M has been left with brain damage which his parents say means he may “deviate from his peers” as he grows older.

The boys’ parents, who joined other families in the court, said it was “horrendous” to witness Letby repeatedly deny hurting their children during weeks of cross-examination.

“I had to listen to her lie and lie and lie,” their mother said, “and I say now enough: don’t tell lies.”

“Whatever sentence she gets, it’s not going to be enough.”

‘Devious’ and ‘cold-blooded’

Described as “devious” and “cold-blooded”, Letby “completely perverted her learning” and “weaponised whatever was at her disposal,” the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

The jury heard the nurse would misuse medical equipment and medicines to cause babies to unexpectedly collapse across day and night shifts on the hospital’s neonatal ward.

Her victims included both boys and girls, many of whom were born prematurely.

Two of her last victims were boys, known as Children O and P, who were two of three triplet siblings. Both died within the first week of their lives, and Child O was found with severe liver damage.

Pascale Jones, of the CPS, said Letby “betrayed the trust that people had in the NHS” as well as the “faith that families had”.

“Behind that angelic smile was a much darker side to her personality,” she added.

Police investigating more attacks

Letby stood trial accused of murdering seven babies and trying to murder 10 others at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

The nurse, from Hereford, denied all the charges.

But the court heard that colleagues had suspicions about Letby well over a year before hospital bosses contacted the police.

A nurse who worked at the hospital told Sky News that when “alarms would go off during the night” there would be a “phrase that people would use”.

Lynsey Artell said that colleagues would ask, “I wonder if Lucy’s working tonight?”.

Ms Artell also fears that Letby attacked her son, Asa, who was cared for on the hospital’s neonatal ward after being born two months premature.

She is calling for the police to reinvestigate her claims and that of other parents.

Following today’s verdicts, Cheshire Police confirmed they are now investigating whether Letby could have attacked other children in her care, prior to June 2015.

This includes several more years she worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital, as well as time Letby spent on training placements at Liverpool Women’s Hospital.

Sky News has contacted both hospitals for comment.

DCI Nicola Evans, the deputy senior investigating officer on the case, told Sky News that it remains “really hard to even accept that, in that setting, somebody would be harming babies”.

“That is totally unnatural for anybody to think that,” she added.

No motive ever established

Cheshire Police conducted a two-year investigation into the babies’ deaths before Letby was charged in November 2020.

Officers say they examined more than half a million medical and digital records and have been supporting the victims’ families, many of whom have attended court proceedings in person.

DCI Evans said: “I don’t think there’s anybody who has worked on this investigation who will come out of the other side the same person they were.

“It has been heartbreaking.”

During the trial, Letby claimed that she was being wrongly accused to cover hospital failings.

No motive has ever been established, which DCI Evans said “must be really hard for families to accept”.

“I don’t know whether we will ever be able to answer that question, and only Lucy Letby can answer that,” the officer added.

Additional reporting by Megan Harwood-Baynes, news reporter inside Manchester Crown Court

UK

Manchester United legend Denis Law dies aged 84

Published

9 hours ago

January 17, 2025

admin

Manchester United legend Denis Law dies aged 84

Former Manchester United and Scotland footballer Denis Law has died, at the age of 84.

In a statement, his family said: “It is with a heavy heart that we tell you our father Denis Law has sadly passed away. He fought a tough battle, but finally, he is now at peace.

“We would like to thank everyone who contributed to his wellbeing and care, past and much more recently.

“We know how much people supported and loved him and that love was always appreciated and made the difference.”

The Aberdeen-born footballer previously announced in August 2021 that he had been diagnosed with dementia.

A prolific striker, Law scored 237 goals in 404 appearances for Manchester United, for whom he signed for a then-British record transfer fee in 1962.

He is the only man to have two statues dedicated to him at Old Trafford – one on the Stretford End concourse, the other as part of the United Trinity statue overlooking the stadium’s forecourt beside fellow great George Best and Sir Bobby Charlton.

The only Scottish player to have won the Ballon d’Or award, in 1964, he was also part of United’s triumphant campaign in the 1968 European Cup – in which they became the first English club to ever win the competition.

In a statement, the club said: “Everyone at Manchester United is mourning the loss of Denis Law, the King of the Stretford End, who has passed away, aged 84.

“He will always be celebrated as one of the club’s greatest and most beloved players.

“The ultimate goalscorer, his flair, spirit and love for the game made him the hero of a generation. Our deepest condolences go out to Denis’s family and many friends. His memory will live on forever more.”

Wayne Rooney, former United captain and the club’s all-time record goalscorer, described Law as a “legend”.

“Thoughts with all Denis’s family and friends,” he said in an online post.

Another former United captain, Gary Neville, said: “A great footballer and a great man. It’s a privilege and an honour to have spent time in your company. The King of the Stretford End.”

A tribute from the Scotland national team said Law was “a true great”.

“We will not see his likes again,” it said.

Law also played for Huddersfield Town, Manchester City, and Italian club Torino during his club career, and made 55 appearances for Scotland, scoring 30 goals for his country.

Manchester City said in a post on X: “The whole of Manchester, including everyone at City, is mourning with you. Rest in peace, Denis.”

UK

FTSE 100 closes at record high

Published

10 hours ago

January 17, 2025

admin

The UK’s benchmark stock index has reached another record high.

The FTSE 100 index of most valuable companies on the London Stock Exchange closed at 8,505.69, breaking the record set last May.

It had already broken its intraday high at 8532.58 on Friday afternoon, meaning it reached a high not seen before during trading hours.

Money blog: Major boost for mortgage holders

The weakened pound has boosted many of the 100 companies forming the top-flight index.

Why is this happening?

Most are not based in the UK, so a less valuable pound means their sterling-priced shares are cheaper to buy for people using other currencies, typically US dollars.

This makes the shares better value, prompting more to be bought. This greater demand has brought up the prices and the FTSE 100.

The pound has been hovering below $1.22 for much of Friday. It’s steadily fallen from being worth $1.34 in late September.

Also spurring the new record are market expectations for more interest rate cuts in 2025, something which would make borrowing cheaper and likely kickstart spending.

What is the FTSE 100?

The index is made up of many mining and international oil and gas companies, as well as household name UK banks and supermarkets.

Familiar to a UK audience are lenders such as Barclays, Natwest, HSBC and Lloyds and supermarket chains Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s.

Other well-known names include Rolls-Royce, Unilever, easyJet, BT Group and Next.

FTSE stands for Financial Times Stock Exchange.

If a company’s share price drops significantly it can slip outside of the FTSE 100 and into the larger and more UK-based FTSE 250 index.

The inverse works for the FTSE 250 companies, the 101st to 250th most valuable firms on the London Stock Exchange. If their share price rises significantly they could move into the FTSE 100.

A good close for markets

It’s a good end of the week for markets, entirely reversing the rise in borrowing costs that plagued Chancellor Rachel Reeves for the past ten days.

Fears of long-lasting high borrowing costs drove speculation she would have to cut spending to meet self-imposed fiscal rules to balance the budget and bring down debt by 2030.

Long-term government borrowing had reached a high not seen since 1998 while the benchmark 10-year cost of government borrowing, as measured by 10-year gilt yields, was at levels last seen around the 2008 financial crisis.

The gilt yield is effectively the interest rate investors demand to lend money to the UK government.

Only the pound has yet to recover the losses incurred during the market turbulence. Without that dropped price, however, the FTSE 100 record may not have happened.

Also acting to reduce sterling value is the chance of more interest rates. Currencies tend to weaken when interest rates are cut.

UK

Nazi-obsessed terrorist Callum Parslow jailed after trying to murder asylum seeker at Worcestershire hotel

Published

10 hours ago

January 17, 2025

admin

Nazi-obsessed terrorist Callum Parslow jailed after trying to murder asylum seeker at Worcestershire hotel

A Nazi-obsessed man has been jailed for attempted murder after he stabbed an asylum seeker in a terrorist attack.

Callum Parslow was handed a life sentence and will serve a minimum of 22 years and eight months in prison after he knifed the man at a Worcestershire hotel on 2 April last year, as a “protest” against small boat crossings.

The victim, Nahom Hagos, from Eritrea, said it was a “miracle” he survived after being stabbed in the chest and hand.

Parslow, 32, has Hitler’s signature tattooed on his arm and used a £770 knife he had bought online to attack Mr Hagos when he was eating in the conservatory of the Pear Tree Inn at Hindlip.

During sentencing, the judge, Mr Justice Dove, told Parslow: “You committed a vicious and unprovoked assault on a complete stranger Nahom Hagos who suffered devastating injuries as a result of your violence.”

The judge also said Parslow, from Worcester, was “motivated by your adoption of a far-right neo-Nazi mindset which fuelled your warped, violent and racist views”, and added: “This was undoubtedly a terrorist attack.”

He was found guilty of attempted murder in October last year.

Leicester Crown Court heard at the time that Mr Hagos, who used to live at the hotel, was visiting a friend and was stabbed after Parslow asked him for directions to the toilet.

CCTV from the scene showed Mr Hagos fleeing to a car park and being chased by Parslow. He was able to run back into the main reception area, where the hotel manager locked the front door.

Parslow later re-entered through another door apparently searching for further victims, the court heard.

The hotel manager and a builder used a van to take Mr Hagos to hospital in Worcester, as they felt he was losing too much blood, where he was found to have an 8cm-long wound which had not penetrated any of his vital organs.

After trying to kill Mr Hagos, Parslow ran towards a canal and was spotted with what appeared to be blood on his hands.

Officers found blood containing a DNA profile matching that of the victim on the blade of the knife abandoned by Parslow.

Failed manifesto post

After the stabbing and as police closed in, Parslow tried to post a “terrorist manifesto” on X, tagging Tommy Robinson and politicians including Nigel Farage, Suella Braverman and Sir Keir Starmer.

He wrote that he “just did my duty to England” and had tried to “exterminate” Mr Hagos. However, it failed to send as he copied in too many people.

Others on his list included Laurence Fox, Lee Anderson, Boris Johnson, Donald Trump and various news organisations.

Nazi memorabilia at bedsit

During the trial last October, the court heard an axe, metal baseball bat and a second knife were found at Parslow’s bedsit in Bromyard Terrace in Worcester.

Police also discovered a swastika armband, a Nazi-era medallion and copies of Hitler’s book Mein Kampf.

Jurors were also told Parslow had Hitler’s signature tattooed on his arm “in order to demonstrate his affiliation to the ideals of the leader of the German Nazi party”.

He also pleaded guilty to an unconnected sexual offence and two charges of sending electronic communications with intent to cause distress and anxiety at the time.

‘The pain feels unbearable’

Mr Hagos told the court in an impact statement he continues to feel “excruciating pain” in his hand after the attack by Parslow.

Read out by the prosecution on Friday, he said: “The pain is unbearable and keeps me awake all night long.

“The pain feels like an electric shock going through my hand and I now have insomnia.”

He then said he had been “living and pursuing a happy life before the incident,” but added: “I feel lonely and don’t feel safe on the street.

“My life has been turned upside down.”