Sir David Davis warned the House of Commons that his speech would cover deeply distressing events including infant deaths, failures in care, and allegations of a grave miscarriage of justice. He accused Cheshire Police of failing to follow all reasonable lines of inquiry and best professional practice in the Letby case. Davis said Cheshire Police and the CPS ignored advice to draw witnesses from a panel of independent experts for Letby's trial.
Lucy Letby is serving 15 whole life terms for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven more at Countess of Chester Hospital between 2015 and 2016. She has always maintained her innocence and has attempted to appeal her convictions. Letby's case is being reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, after judges rejected her bids to challenge her convictions, and her defense attorney, Mark McDonald, has submitted a request to the CCRC to have her case reassessed.
Davis made specific allegations of police and CPS failures in the Letby investigation. He said they failed to pursue alternative lines of inquiry, refer the case to appropriate specialist authorities, conduct proper due diligence on expert witnesses, engage with real experts about statistical evidence, and disclose critical material to the defence. Cheshire police neglected to seek appropriate medical and statistical expertise and failed to pursue all potential lines of inquiry regarding infant deaths and collapses in 2015-2016. The criminal investigation stemmed from a single meeting with consultants who had contributed to inadequate care, leading to a narrow focus on Letby while overlooking broader factors.
Davis was approached by many experts, including leading statisticians, neonatal specialists, forensic scientists, and legal experts, who were concerned by false analyses and diagnoses used to convict Letby. He compared Letby's case to Sally Clark's, whose murder conviction was overturned. Police failed to follow official recommendations for appointing a panel of experts and unjustly dismissed Prof. Jane Hutton, a medical statistician, according to Davis. The investigation did not conduct proper due diligence regarding experts like Dr. Dewi Evans, Davis alleged.
Medical expert opinions challenging Letby's guilt have emerged. UK and international medical experts argue that the babies’ deaths could be attributed to natural causes and inadequate care rather than deliberate harm. Letby's legal team has submitted evidence from new medical experts to the Criminal Cases Review Commission, according to multiple reports. Two former police officers initially believed Letby guilty but now think she was a victim of miscarriage of justice, Davis said.
Cheshire Constabulary strongly refutes Sir David Davis's comments and remains confident in the integrity of the Letby investigation. The force said constant noise about Letby undermines public confidence in the justice system. Policing minister Sarah Jones said MPs need to be 'very careful to avoid implying impropriety where none has actually been established' and that there has been a proper process involving independent bodies.
Davis is demanding a review into 'serious professional failings' that led to the conviction of Lucy Letby and will write to the Director of Public Prosecutions. He said he would ask the Director of Public Prosecutions to review the behavior of police and CPS in the Letby case. Davis urged police to provide Letby's defence with documentation and said he would publish a list online.
The blood spatter looked wrong and someone else killed both Ainsworths.
Background hospital failures and neonatal unit problems provide context. The Countess of Chester hospital neonatal unit suffered a sharp increase in deaths from a typical two to four a year to 17 in one 13-month period. The hospital commissioned investigations, including one by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in November 2016, which noted many failings on the unit that could have caused the deaths. That report highlighted inadequate staffing levels, delayed escalation of concerns to tertiary units, and disconnection between neonatal leadership and the trust’s government and risk management processes. The neonatal unit was downgraded in July 2016 and stopped taking babies of less than 32 weeks’ gestation.
The Exeter University miscarriage database lists nearly 500 people who have been wrongfully imprisoned, with wrong forensic evidence responsible for 81 cases leading to over 500 years of unjust imprisonment, according to research.
In a separate case, Stephanie Davies, coroner's officer for Cheshire Police, proposed that a serial killer could be responsible for deaths in Cheshire since 1996. Detectives did not agree with Stephanie Davies' serial killer theory and repeatedly rejected it, noting deaths in 1996 and 1999 as separate murder-suicides. Davies was suspended from her job after her report calling for further investigation into the deaths was leaked, according to multiple reports.
The Ainsworth murder-suicide case details raise questions. Police said that Mr Ainsworth murdered his wife with a hammer and a knife before suffocating himself, with a suicide note found at the scene. Detectives suggested the Ainsworth case could have been an act of euthanasia. Police found a bottle of chlormethiazole tablets at the Ainsworth scene, despite neither having a prescription.
A new ITV documentary called 'Hunting The Silver Killer' has reinvestigated the two murder-suicides, according to multiple reports.
Several unknowns persist about evidence in both cases. The specific evidence or findings that led Stephanie Davies to propose a serial killer theory for deaths since 1996 remain unclear. Details of the new medical expert evidence submitted to the Criminal Cases Review Commission in Letby's case have not been disclosed. The current status and timeline of the Criminal Cases Review Commission's review of Letby's convictions are not publicly confirmed.
Further unknowns concern review processes and outcomes. The specific alternative lines of inquiry Cheshire Police allegedly failed to pursue in the Letby investigation have not been detailed publicly. The outcome or response from the Director of Public Prosecutions regarding Sir David Davis's request for a review is pending.