Lucy Letby: Serial killer Beverley Allitt case formed part of nurse's training, inquiry hears
Lady Justice Thirlwall says "it's time to get on with this inquiry" after dismissing speculation surrounding the convictions of Letby, who was convicted of murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester hospital.
Tuesday 10 September 2024 17:08, UK
The case of child serial killer nurse Beverley Allitt formed part of Lucy Letby's student training, a public inquiry has heard.
Allitt, who attacked children at the Grantham and Kesteven Hospital, Lincolnshire, in 1991, and GP Harold Shipman, who is thought to have murdered hundreds of his patients, were both referenced as the Thirlwall Inquiry opened on Tuesday.
It will look into how Letby, 34, was able to target babies where she worked on the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital in Cheshire between June 2015 and June 2016.
The inquiry chair, Lady Justice Thirlwall, said it would not examine her convictions for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven more, with two attempts on one of her victims.
She criticised the "noise" from people casting doubt about her guilt, causing "enormous additional distress" to her victims' families.
Letby, the most prolific serial child killer in modern times, is serving 15 whole-life orders after being convicted at Manchester Crown Court.
In May, she lost her Court of Appeal bid to challenge her convictions from the first trial before she was found guilty of attempting to murder another baby at a retrial.
Opening the inquiry at Liverpool Town Hall, Lady Justice Thirlwall said the appeal judgment was a "watershed" as parents could now turn their minds to the inquiry.
In her opening statement, counsel to the inquiry, Rachel Langdale KC, referred to the Clothier Inquiry following the crimes of Allitt, who was convicted of four counts of murder, three of attempted murder, and a further six of grievous bodily harm against children.
"Nevertheless, and distressingly, 25 years later another nurse working in another hospital killed and harmed babies in her care," she said.
Ms Langdale said the inquiry would hear from a senior lecturer in the child nursing programme at the University of Chester, where Letby qualified in 2011, who said the case of Allitt formed part of student training and learning.
She said the motive for Letby's crimes would not be examined and mentioned the inquiry into the crimes of Shipman, which "shed very little light" on why he carried out the killings.
"For ordinary, decent, right-thinking people, the actions of Letby will remain unfathomable. We will not be inviting speculation from witnesses about her motive or mindset," she added.
The inquiry will cover three broad areas:
• The experiences of parents whose babies were targeted by Letby
• The conduct of those working at the Countess of Chester
• How Letby was able repeatedly to kill and harm babies
The first week of the inquiry will hear opening statements from the counsel to the inquiry, along with legal representatives from "core participants" including the families of Letby's victims.
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In July after a retrial, Letby was handed another whole life order for the attempted murder of an extremely premature baby, but protested "I'm innocent" as she was led from the dock.
In recent months, a number of doctors, scientists and statisticians have publicly challenged how the evidence was presented to jurors in Letby's first trial.
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But that speculation has been described as "upsetting" by solicitor Tamlin Bolton, who is representing the families of six victims.
Lady Justice Thirlwall said there had been "a huge outpouring of comment" questioning Letby's guilt from people who do not appear to have been at the trial.
"Parts of the evidence have been selected and there has been criticism of the defence at the trial. All of this noise has caused enormous additional distress to the parents who have already suffered far too much," she said.
She said parents had waited years for their questions to be answered, and it was her responsibility to focus on the inquiry's terms of reference, adding: "It's time to get on with this inquiry."