Lucy Letby: Nurse accused of murdering seven babies tells court it was ‘sickening’ being blamed for their deaths
A nurse accused of murdering seven babies at a neonatal unit has denied harming any children as she gave evidence for the first time.
Lucy Letby is also accused of 10 attempted murders between 2015 and 2016, allegedly using methods such as injecting air into the babies or poisoning them with insulin.
The prosecution alleges Letby was a “constant malevolent presence” in the neo-natal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital in Cheshire.
The jury finally heard from the 33-year-old, seven months into her trial.
Letby trial latest: Alleged baby killer asked about ‘I am evil’ alleged confession note
She told Manchester Crown Court on Tuesday she had probably cared for hundreds of babies at the hospital.
Letby said it was “sickening” when she discovered she was being blamed for a number of baby deaths while doing the job she “loved”.
“It was devastating. I don’t think you could be accused of anything worse than that,” she said.
Asked by her barrister if she ever did anything “meant to hurt any of them”, she replied: “No, I only did my best to care for them.”
Letby said she never wanted to harm any baby, saying it was “completely against everything that being a nurse is… I’m there to help and to care”.
The defendant told the court about the three times she was arrested by police, on suspicion of murder and attempted murder of babies.
Among items recovered at her then home in Chester was a Post-it note found in a diary.
Among words written on the note were, in capitals, “I am evil I did this”, the court has heard.
Letby also wrote: “I don’t deserve to live. I killed them on purpose because I’m not good enough to care for them. I am a horrible evil person.”
Barrister Ben Meyers KC asked her: “When you say killed them on purpose does that mean you’ve gone and done something intentionally?”
Letby replied: “No”.
Asked to explain, she said it meant she hadn’t “been good enough and that I’ve somehow failed in my duties and my competencies”.
Letby said she’d written it because “I felt at the time I had done something wrong and I thought I’m such an awful, evil person… that I had made mistakes and not known”.
Mr Myers asked: “What did you thought you had done?”
“That somehow I had been incompetent and I had done something wrong to affect these babies. I felt I must be responsible in some way,” Letby replied.
She said the scrawled note “was a way of me expressing how I felt at the time that I wasn’t able to say to anyone else”.
Family of the alleged victims – who cannot be named – watched from the public gallery as Letby gave evidence, as did her own parents.
Letby, from Hereford, denies all the allegations.
The trial continues.
Rory McIlroy has completed a career Grand Slam in golf with his win at the US Masters tournament.
The Masters was the last major tournament left for McIlroy to complete the modern golf Grand Slam – a feat only five others have managed before him.
McIlroy, who was making his 11th attempt at completing the Grand Slam, faced off Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff to decide the Masters champion, after they finished tied on 11 under at the end of regulation on Sunday.
McIlroy reacts as he wins. Pic: AP
McIlroy reacts after winning against Justin Rose at the Masters. Pic: AP
“It’s my 17th time here and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time,” McIlroy said just before slipping on the Green Jacket during the presentation ceremony.
“I’m just absolutely honoured and thrilled and just so proud to be able to call myself a Masters champion.”
McIlroy had missed his six-foot putt for par, a bogey which dropped him back to 11 under, where he joined Rose – leading to a dramatic play-off between the two.
Only five other golfers have been able to complete a career Grand Slam, including Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen.
Pic: AP
McIlroy is a two-time winner of the PGA Championship, claiming the prize in 2012 and 2014.
The 35-year-old also won his first major title, the US Open, in 2011, and won The Open Championship in 2014.
How did McIlroy get to the victory?
McIlroy recovered from losing his overnight two-shot advantage with an opening-hole double bogey to initially take control at Augusta National, only to blow a four-shot lead over his closing six holes.
The world No 2 bogeyed the last to close a one-over 73 and slip back to 11 under alongside Rose, who overturned a seven-stroke deficit and posted a stunning final-round 66 to force a play-off.
The players returned to the 18th for the play-off, where McIlroy made amends for his 72nd-hole blunder by firing a stunning approach to within three feet of the pin and making the birdie putt required for a life-changing win.
UK
Race to keep British Steel furnaces running with last-minute efforts to secure raw materials under way
Last-minute efforts to keep British Steel operating are to be carried out today, as the plant races to secure a supply of raw materials.
The Department for Business and Trade said officials are working to secure supplies of materials, including coking coal, to keep British Steel operational, as well as to ensure all staff will be paid.
It added that setting up new supply chains was “crucial” as a fall in blast furnace temperature could risk “irreparable damage to the site, with the steel setting and scarring the machinery”.
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British Steel: What happens next?
Companies including Tata – which ran the now-closed Port Talbot steelworks – and Rainham Steel have offered managerial support and materials to keep the Lincolnshire site running.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said in a statement that “when I said steelmaking has a future in the UK, I meant it”.
“Steel is vital for our national security and our ambitious plans for the housing, infrastructure and manufacturing sectors in the UK,” he added.
“We will set out a long-term plan to co-invest with the private sector to ensure steel in the UK has a bright and sustainable future.”
Unions said Jingye decided to cancel orders of key materials for the steelworks
Earlier this month, unions said the steelwork’s owner, Chinese company Jingye, decided to cancel future orders for the iron ore, coal and other raw materials needed to keep the furnaces running.
It meant the Scunthorpe plant had been on course to close down by May, bit it sparked urgent calls for government intervention.
Emergency legislation was passed on Saturday bringing the steelworks into effective government control, and officials were on site as soon as the new legislation came into force.
However, the business secretary has warned that does not mean the plant is guaranteed to survive.
Appearing on Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Mr Reynolds also said he would not bring a Chinese company into the “sensitive” steel sector again.
“I don’t know… the Boris Johnson government when they did this, what exactly the situation was,” he added. “But I think it’s a sensitive area.”
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‘I wouldn’t bring a Chinese company into our steel sector’
Jingye stepped in with a deal to buy British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant out of insolvency in 2020, when Mr Johnson was prime minister.
The minister added that while The Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill stops short of the full nationalisation of British Steel, “to be frank, as I said to parliament yesterday, it is perhaps at this stage the likely option”.
The Conservatives accused the government of acting “too late” and implementing a “botched nationalisation” after ignoring warnings about the risk to the steelworks.
Read more:
A sticking plaster, not a solution: What next for British Steel?
How Trump, China and Reform all played their part
Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said: “The Labour Government have landed themselves in a steel crisis entirely of their own making.
“They’ve made poor decisions and let the unions dictate their actions.”
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