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The crimes of Lucy Letby are unprecedented in modern British history.

The mushrooming cloud of expert commentary and online conspiracy theories about her guilt is equally unusual.

The public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Letby‘s crimes, which was set up by the government last year following her conviction, will begin hearings at Liverpool Town Hall on Tuesday.

But the inquiry will not address the question – a growing one in the minds of many – of Letby’s guilt.

The former neonatal nurse was sentenced to life imprisonment last year for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six more at the Countess of Chester Hospital between the summers of 2015 and 2016.

At a recent retrial she was convicted of attempting to murder another baby.

It confirmed her as the most prolific child serial killer in modern British history.

The judge said she was guilty of a “cruel, calculated and cynical campaign of child murder involving the smallest and most vulnerable of children”.

She had, he said, “a deep malevolence bordering on sadism”.

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‘You will spend rest of your life in prison’

Letby’s attempts to appeal against her conviction have been rejected by judges. She has appointed a new legal team and plans to take her case to the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

Her new lawyer Mark McDonald posted last week: “The day after Lucy was convicted I raised concerns. I was attacked for speaking out, even reported to my professional body.

“There are many hurdles to overcome in coming years but one day justice will be done and those wrongly convicted will be freed.”

The development had added fuel to the campaign being waged by an unlikely alliance in support of Letby’s case.

Conviction ‘not safe’

In May, before Letby’s retrial began, a 13,000-word article in the New Yorker magazine raised questions about her initial conviction. It mobilised new recruits to the army of armchair Letby pundits.

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Many of those amateur detectives turned up at Manchester Crown Court this summer to sit in the public gallery and hear the case play out.

Perhaps more significantly, a number of expert commentators, doctors and statisticians, have raised their voices in protest, in particular over the way data was presented at the original trial.

Many of their concerns predate the Letby case and, while they accept they did not sit through all of the evidence in the 10 months of that trial, they do believe reasonable doubt exists.

Dr Jane Hutton is a professor of statistics at the University of Warwick and an expert in the use of medical data in court.

Jane Hutton
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Jane Hutton

She was one of two dozen experts who wrote to the government asking that the Letby inquiry be delayed or broadened.

They believe a failure to look beyond Letby risks the inquiry missing other potential causes of death of vulnerable babies in hospital.

“I am of the opinion that the conviction is not safe because of the number of statistical problems I’ve seen and because other specialists from other areas have voiced similar concerns from the basis of their own professions,” she told Sky News.

“The concern is that by taking the conviction as safe and focusing only on Lucy Letby, the reasons for the increase in the number of deaths and collapses will not be fully explored and therefore there may be lessons that could be learned which will not be learned.”

What was the evidence against Lucy Letby at her trial?

‘Distressing’ and ‘offensive’

But this increasing drumbeat of support for Letby’s cause has been labelled “distressing” and “offensive” by those who represent the families of the babies Letby was convicted of attacking.

Tamlin Bolton, who represents six of the families affected, said: “I think the facts are very clear. She has been convicted of these crimes. She has exhausted the appeals process.

“Those that have been privy to the full remit of evidence, that includes the families, the jurors and the judges in the Court of Appeal, have all maintained her guilt.

“Anything outside of that, those that haven’t seen or read or heard the entirety of the evidence, it’s merely speculation.”

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From August 2023: How police caught Letby

She said a lot of families had been unaware of what was going on at the Countess of Chester Hospital at the time their babies died. She said they wanted transparency and accountability.

The inquiry chair, Lady Justice Thirlwall, has said her aim is to ensure vital lessons are learned and to make sure that no-one else suffers what the families have gone through.

In response to the calls to delay or alter the terms of the inquiry, a spokesperson said it would begin on schedule and “will follow the terms of reference set by the secretary of state”.

Will inquiry provide answers?

A government spokesperson said: “This was a horrendous case and there were clear failings across the NHS and with regulators.

“The Thirlwall Inquiry will review all aspects of the case and the terms of reference were agreed following wide-ranging engagement with its chair, the families affected and other stakeholders including NHS England.

“The inquiry will play an important role in identifying learnings following events at the Countess of Chester Hospital.”

Read more:
The prisoners who will never be released
Parents of Letby’s victims finally given voice

When Letby was found guilty initially, Dame Ruth May, chief nursing officer for England, said the crimes were “appalling” and a “terrible betrayal of the trust placed in her”.

“On behalf of all of us I would like to express our profound apologies to the families for all they have been through,” she added.

“The NHS is fully committed to doing everything we can to prevent anything like this ever happening again, and we welcome the independent inquiry announced by the Department of Health and Social Care to help ensure we learn every possible lesson from this awful case.”

To those who support Letby, the inquiry will be operating in a parallel universe, removed from the fundamental question of her guilt.

To the families of those babies, who live with the great pain of all, there has never been any suggestion of motive or any flicker of remorse. The inquiry might at least provide some answers.

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UK to build weapons factories and buy thousands of missiles in £1.5bn push to rearm

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UK to build weapons factories and buy thousands of missiles in £1.5bn push to rearm

The UK will buy up to 7,000 long-range missiles, rockets and drones and build at least six weapons factories in a £1.5bn push to rearm at a time of growing threats.

The plan, announced by the government over the weekend, will form part of Sir Keir Starmer’s long-awaited Strategic Defence Review, which will be published on Monday.

However, it lacks key details, including when the first arms plant will be built, when the first missile will be made, or even what kind of missiles, drones and rockets will be purchased.

The government is yet to appoint a new senior leader to take on the job of “national armaments director”, who will oversee the whole effort.

Andy Start, the incumbent head of Defence Equipment and Support – the branch of defence charged with buying kit – is still doing the beefed-up role of national armaments director as a sluggish process to recruit someone externally rumbles on.

Keir Starmer and  Volodymyr Zelenskyy speak to the press as they attend a presentation of Ukrainian military drones.
Pic: Reuters
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Sir Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a presentation of Ukrainian military drones. Pic: Reuters

Revealing some of its content ahead of time, the Ministry of Defence said the defence review will recommend an “always on” production capacity for munitions, drawing on lessons learned from Ukraine, which has demonstrated the vital importance of large production lines.

It will also call for an increase in stockpiles of munitions – something that is vitally needed for the army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force to be able to keep fighting beyond a few days.

Sky News will launch a new podcast series on 10 June based around a wargame that simulates an attack by Russia against the UK to test Britain’s defences

“The hard-fought lessons from [Vladimir] Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine show a military is only as strong as the industry that stands behind them,” John Healey, the defence secretary, said in a statement released on Saturday night.

“We are strengthening the UK’s industrial base to better deter our adversaries and make the UK secure at home and strong abroad.”

Army Commandos load a 105MM Howitzer in Norway.
Pic: Ministry of Defence Crown Copyright/PA
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Army Commandos load a 105mm Howitzer in Norway. Pic: Ministry of Defence/PA

The UK used to have a far more resilient defence industry during the Cold War, with the capacity to manufacture missiles and other weapons and ammunition at speed and at scale.

However, much of that depth, which costs money to sustain, was lost following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, when successive governments switched funding priorities away from defence and into areas such as health, welfare and economic growth.

Even after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and a huge increase in demand from Kyiv for munitions from its allies, production lines at UK factories were slow to expand.

A reaper drone in the Middle East as part of Operation Shader. Pic: Ministry of Defence
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A reaper drone in the Middle East. Pic: Ministry of Defence

Sky News visited a plant run by the defence company Thales in Belfast last year that makes N-LAW anti-tank missiles used in Ukraine. Its staff at the time only worked weekday shifts between 7am and 4pm.

Under this new initiative, the government said the UK will build at least six new “munitions and energetics” factories.

Energetic materials include explosives, propellants and pyrotechnics, which are required in the manufacturing of weapons.

There were no details, however, on whether these will be national factories or built in partnership with defence companies, or a timeline for this to happen.

There was also no information on where they would be located or what kind of weapons they would make.

King Charles  visiting HMS Prince of Wales as the Royal Navy finalises preparations for a major global deployment to the Indo-Pacific this spring.
Pic: PO Phot Rory Arnold/Ministry of Defence/PA
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King Charles visits HMS Prince of Wales. Pic: PO Phot Rory Arnold/Ministry of Defence/PA

In addition, it was announced that the UK will buy “up to 7,000 UK-built long-range weapons for the UK Armed Forces”, though again without specifying what.

It is understood these weapons will include a mix of missiles, rockets and drones.

Sources within the defence industry criticised the lack of detail, which is so often the case with announcements by the Ministry of Defence.

The sources said small and medium-sized companies in particular are struggling to survive as they await clarity from the Ministry of Defence over a range of different contracts.

One source described a sense of “paralysis”.

The prime minister launched the defence review last July, almost a year ago. But there had been a sense of drift within the Ministry of Defence beforehand, in the run-up to last year’s general election.

The source said: “While the government’s intentions are laudable, the lack of detail in this announcement is indicative of how we treat defence in this country.

“Headline figures, unmatched by clear intent and delivery timelines which ultimately leave industry no closer to knowing what, or when, the MOD want their bombs and bullets.

“After nearly 18 months of decision and spending paralysis, what we need now is a clear demand signal from the Ministry of Defence that allows industry to start scaling production, not grand gestures with nothing to back it up.”

As well as rearming the nation, the government said the £1.5bn investment in new factories and weapons would create around 1,800 jobs across the UK.

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‘Deeply dangerous’ assisted dying bill should be scrapped, says leading care consultant

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'Deeply dangerous' assisted dying bill should be scrapped, says leading care consultant

A leading British palliative care consultant has described the assisted dying bill as “not fit for purpose” and is urging MPs to stop the bill from progressing any further.

Rejecting assurances from supporters of assisted dying who claim the proposed British version would be based on the scheme used in the American state of Oregon – widely regarded as the model with the most safeguards – Dr Amy Proffitt said “it’s far from a safe system”.

“The majority, 80% of the people that have assisted death have government insurance with Medicaid or Medicare suggesting that the vulnerable in society are not worth it,” she said.

“Put that into our NHS and what does it say about us as a society… those with disability, those with learning disabilities, those with social deprivation?”

Dr Amy Proffitt, British palliative care consultant
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Oregon’s assisted dying method is ‘far from a safe system,’ Dr Amy Proffitt said

Dr Proffitt added: “I think it’s deeply dangerous for the bill that has been proposed and it needs to be scrapped and we go back and look again.”

She and other leading palliative care doctors have expressed concern about the erosion of end of life care if the bill passes. It is a fear expressed by Britain’s hospice sector.

Read more:
Why is assisted dying so controversial – and where is it already legal?

Dr Ted Gruber, a retired Oregon doctor who has assisted numerous assisted deaths, says those fears have not been realised and the state’s hospice sector has strengthened since the introduction of assisted dying in Oregon in 1994.

He says he has never had any doubts about his role as a physician who assists a patient’s death.

“I’ve never been conflicted,” he explains. “I’ve attended a number of them.

“Each of the ones I’ve attended has been almost sacred if you will, it’s hard to explain but with the family there, the family dog in the bed, with the music playing that they want.

“Everyone’s sad, everyone’s crying, it’s not a joyful moment but in a way it’s kind of a sacred moment.”

Dr Ted Gruber, a retired Oregon doctor who has assisted numerous assisted deaths
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Dr Ted Gruber told Sky News ‘I’ve never been conflicted’ about assisted dying

Oregon’s assisted dying laws have not seen the same number of changes to widen the cohort groups who would qualify for an assisted death in the way, for example, Canada has.

So it has managed to steer clear of the “slippery slope” criticism levelled at other programmes.

Dr Gruber also said the assisted death scheme in Oregon had enhanced the patient-physician relationship.

“The role of the doctor who is attending the dying patient is one of listening and paying attention to what the needs of the dying patient are and it’s eroded when the patient can’t trust the doctor,” he said.

“When I’ve seen a patient who has tried to talk to a doctor about aid in dying and they’re like ‘oh, I won’t do that, I’m opposed to it’… well that doesn’t enhance a doctor-patient relationship, it will be enhanced when a doctor says let’s talk about why you want to ask that.”

Read more from Sky News:
Assisted dying law ‘unworkable, unaffordable and naive’
MPs criticise Esther Rantzen’s assisted dying intervention

Oregon’s assisted death model is the closest to what is being proposed in the UK.

Both require it to apply only to adults who are terminally ill, mentally competent, and have six months to live or less, and to take the drugs themselves.

Part 1 of graphics comparing Oregon's assisted dying policy to the proposed UK system

But while Oregon cases are reviewed by two doctors, in the UK they would be reviewed by a panel including a psychiatrist, a social worker and a legal professional.

Part 2 of graphics comparing Oregon's assisted dying policy to the proposed UK system LANDSCAPE ONLY

In Oregon, the drugs are posted to the individual for them to take when ready, whereas in the UK, a healthcare professional would bring them on the day of the planned death.

Part 3 of graphics comparing Oregon's assisted dying policy to the proposed UK system LANDSCAPE ONLY

Marcy Lehman’s father Ted was “her hero, the person I looked up to’. An Oregon doctor, he chose to have an assisted death at home in Portland surrounded by his family.

Marcy was there by his side. And it was for her, her mother and ultimately her father, the right decision.

“This was my hero, the person I looked up to, and now the roles were switched and I was taking care of him, and I had to be his hero,” Marcy said.

Ted Lehman, who chose to have an assisted death at home in Portland

She explained that his stomach cancer “was starting to work up his system so he couldn’t eat.”

“My dad was a strong person and stronger even up until his death,” Marcy added.

Marcy Lehman, whose father Ted chose to have an assisted death at home
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‘He didn’t want someone to have to go to the bathroom with him,’ Marcy Lehman said

“He didn’t want someone to have to go to the bathroom with him to help with that or to feed him that wasn’t what he wanted – yeah, he was in pain, he could endure the pain, but it was really more the dignified way he wanted to leave this Earth.”

Ted’s family are grateful that they live in a state where assisted death is allowed. It’s a choice they would make again if they had to.

Now the UK must soon decide if that same choice is made available over here.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End Of Life) Bill was introduced to the House of Commons last October. Later next month, MPs will be asked to vote again in a ballot that will decide the fate of the proposed legislation.

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Kids ‘sleep with vapes under pillows’ – but will sales ban on disposables have any effect?

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Kids 'sleep with vapes under pillows' - but will sales ban on disposables have any effect?

As a ban on the sale of disposable vapes comes into force on Sunday, a doctor who set up the first-ever clinic to help children stop vaping has said she has seen patients so addicted they couldn’t sleep through the night without them.

Professor Rachel Isba established the clinic at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool in January and has now seen several patients as young as 11 years old who are nicotine dependent.

“Some of the young people vape before they get out of bed. They are sleeping with them under their pillow,” she told Sky News.

Professor Rachel Isba set up the first-ever stop vaping clinic for children
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Professor Rachel Isba set up the first-ever stop vaping clinic for children

“I’m hearing stories of some children waking up at three o’clock in the morning, thinking they can’t sleep, thinking the vape will help them get back to sleep. Whereas, actually, that’s the complete opposite of how nicotine works.”

Ms Isba said most of her patients use disposable vapes, and while some young people may use the chance to give up, others will simply move to refillable devices after the ban.

“To me, vaping feels quite a lot like the beginning of smoking. I’m not surprised, but disappointed on behalf of the children that history has repeated itself.”

A government ban on single-use vapes comes into effect from Sunday, prohibiting the sale of disposable vaping products across the UK, both online and in-store, whether or not they contain nicotine.

More on Children

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said usage among young vapers remained too high, and the ban would “put an end to their alarming rise in school playgrounds and the avalanche of rubbish flooding the nation’s streets”.

A sign for customers at a Tesco store in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, advising customers that the sale of disposable vapes will end on 30 May 2025. Picture date: Wednesday May 14, 2025. Pic: PA
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Pic: PA

Circular economy minister Mary Creagh said: “For too long, single-use vapes have blighted our streets as litter and hooked our children on nicotine. That ends today. The government calls time on these nasty devices.”

At nearby Shrewsbury House Youth Club in Everton, a group of 11 and 12-year-old girls said vape addiction is already rife among their friends.

Yasmin Dumbell said: “Every day we go out, and at least someone has a vape. I know people who started in year five. It’s constantly in their hand.”

Yasmin Dumbell says she knows students who started vaping in year five
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Yasmin Dumbell says she knows students who started vaping in year five

Her friend Una Quayle said metal detectors were installed at her school to try to stop pupils bringing in vapes, and they are having special assemblies about the dangers of the devices.

But, she said, students “find ways to get around the scanners though – they hide them in their shorts and go to the bathroom and do it”.

Una Quayle says metal detectors installed at her school won't stop students using vapes
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Una Quayle says metal detectors installed at her school won’t stop students using vapes

The girls said the ban on disposables is unlikely to make a difference for their friends who are already addicted.

According to Una, they’ll “find a way to get nicotine into their system”.

As well as trying to address the rise in young people vaping, the government hopes banning single-use vapes will reduce some of the environmental impact the devices have.

Read more:
Disposable vape ban explained
Why vapes are environmentally bad
School support worker struck off over vapes boasts

Although all vapes can be recycled, only a tiny proportion are – with around eight million a week ending up in the bin or on the floor.

Pulled apart by hand

Even those that are recycled have to be pulled apart by hand, as there is currently no way to automate the process.

Scott Butler, executive director of Material Focus, a recycling non-profit group, said vapes were “some of the most environmentally wasteful, damaging, dangerous consumer products ever sold”.

His organisation worries that with new, legal models being designed to almost exactly mimic disposables in look and feel – and being sold for a similar price – people will just keep throwing them away.

He said the behaviour “is too ingrained. The general public have been told ‘vapes are disposable’. They’ve even been marketed this way. But they never were disposable”.

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