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Lucy Letby’s lawyer barred from Thirlwall Inquiry
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Lucy Letby’s lawyer barred from Thirlwall Inquiry

Lucy LetbyHis lawyer was banned from attending the hearing Thirlwall InquiryDespite concerns that inaccurate statements about the nurse were not addressed.

Mark McDonaldWho will ask the Criminal Cases Investigation Commission (CCRC) to review the hearing of Letby, who applied for core participant status last month but was rejected on the grounds that her presence would be disruptive.

Letby was found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill seven others. Countess of Chester Hospitalbut the jury was unable to reach a verdict regarding several other babies.

Despite this, the lawyers for these families continued to accuse Letby, even though she did not find him guilty of harming their babies.

Mr McDonald said: “What is going on here is an attempt to blame him for everything that goes wrong in the neonatal units at Chester without missing the opportunity to look at the reality of the situation.

“We felt it was necessary to include his voice in the investigation. Part of the application was not for him to be present, but simply for legal representation.

“We knew from the very beginning and from the opening statements that they were going to bring a lot more evidence and a lot more issues related to events that occurred outside of the trial.

“But they are worried about the outage. We can’t see how it would disrupt this, we would mitigate any disruption.

Attorney Mark McDonaldAttorney Mark McDonald

Attorney Mark McDonald – PA/ALAMY

During the inquest in Liverpool Richard Baker K.C.He repeated allegations that Letby had harmed Child H and Child J, although jurors representing the families were unable to find the nurse not guilty or reach a verdict on the charges against them.

In his written opening statement he said: “Although the jury was unable to reach a conclusion on the other charges, including allegations relating to Child H and Child J, these families are also of the view that their children were harmed by the actions of the police against Lucy Letby.”

Speaking about Child J, he added: “The crashes occurred because Lucy Letby attempted to murder Child J.

“Although the jury hearing the case was unable to reach a verdict on this issue, Child J’s parents have no doubt that this was the case. Child J survives Lucy Letby’s attempts to kill him.

“On behalf of Child H, it is submitted that these events occurred because Lucy Letby attempted to murder Child H.”

Mr Baker also insisted Letby had attacked another baby, Child Q, which the jury was unable to reach a verdict on.

Peter Skelton KC, representing some of the families, also linked Letby to the attempted murder of Baby Q and said he was “working weekends because Child Q was deteriorating and needed resuscitation.”

But he made clear that the jury had not reached a verdict in the case and that Child Q’s parents “still don’t know what happened” to their baby.

Since Letby’s conviction, many scientists, doctors, nurses and statisticians have come forward on this issue. question the evidence It was presented to the jury, and statements made during the investigation were also questioned.

The moment Lucy Letby was arrestedThe moment Lucy Letby was arrested

The moment Lucy Letby was arrested – MIKE SMALLCOMBE

The prosecution insisted Letby received a fair trial and said the defense could have called expert witnesses to challenge the evidence but chose not to do so.

In September, Mr Baker claimed that during shifts Letby worked at Liverpool Women’s Hospital in 2012 and 2015, an inspection showed the rate of dislodgment of breathing tubes was 40 times higher than normal.

But experts wrote to Lady Justice Thirwall, who chaired the inquiry, claiming the evidence was “not reliable”.

Mr McDonald added: “We are incredibly skeptical about the statistical value of this whole statement from Liverpool Women’s Hospital about tubes and it has not been challenged.

“What we do know is that the police still have an open file on this case, so all the other things that have come out, no one has said, ‘This is outside the due process and there is no proper evidence.’ That’s why it needs to be represented.

“The elephant in the room throughout this investigation is whether he committed these crimes.”

At the start of the inquest, Lady Justice Thirwall said the issue of Letby’s guilt was not in dispute and that the inquest ‘will not be aimed at reviewing the convictions’.

The hearing is currently adjourned until Monday, November 4, when it will hear from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

The Thirlwall Inquiry has been approached for comment.

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