Lucy Letby’s legal team claim ‘miscarriage of justice’ as they make new bid against conviction for murdering babies
LUCY Letby's legal team have made a new bid against her convictions claiming her original case was a "miscarriage of justice".
The killer nurse is serving 15 whole-life orders for murdering seven babies in a year-long reign of terror.
Letby, 34, also tried to kill seven others - including one baby twice - at Countess of Chester Hospital.
Today, a "blue riband committee” of 14 neonatalogists will present"new medical evidence" at a press conference in London.
Lawyers for Letby have now submitted an application to the independent Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) citing a miscarriage of justice.
The CCRC will now investigate whether the case should be sent to the Court of Appeal.
A spokesperson said: "We are aware that there has been a great deal of speculation and commentary surrounding Lucy Letby's case, much of it from parties with only a partial view of the evidence.
"We ask that everyone remembers the families affected by events at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016.
"We have received a preliminary application in relation to Ms Letby's case, and work has begun to assess the application. We anticipate further submissions being made to us.
"It is not for the CCRC to determine innocence or guilt in a case, that's a matter for the courts.
Most read in The Sun
"It is for the CCRC to find, investigate and if appropriate, refer potential miscarriages of justice to the appellate courts when new evidence or new argument means there is a real possibility that a conviction will not be upheld, or a sentence reduced."
The CCRC said it is "not possible" to give a timeframe over how long the probe will take.
Among those on today's panel are retired medic Dr Shoo Lee, who co-authored a 1989 academic paper on air embolism in babies, which featured prominently in Letby’s trial.
His work was used to support the theory that the nurse killed some of the children by injecting them with air.
Dr Lee has previously claimed his findings on skin discolouration was "misrepresented" in court and that the evidence "wasn't quite right".
He said he recently updated his academic paper and found no cases of skin discolouration linked to air embolism by the venous system, as was said during the trial.
It is also understood the expert panel found alternative causes of death for a "large number" of the babies who featured in the trial.
Tory former minister Sir David Davis is chairing the panel, while the nurse's barrister, Mark McDonald, is also present.
Sir David, the MP for Goole and Pocklington, wants a retrial for Letby and said he believes it will clear her of any wrongdoing.
Mr McDonald also separately wants to seek permission from the Court of Appeal to apply to re-open her case on the grounds that Dr Dewi Evans, the lead prosecution medical expert at her trial, was "not reliable".
Retired consultant paediatrician Dr Evans said concerns regarding his evidence were "unsubstantiated, unfounded, inaccurate".
Letby has so far lost two bids to appeal against her convictions.
Her latest in October was over her most recent conviction for the attempted murder of a baby girl.
The killer declared "I'm innocent" as she was handed another life order in July after the retrial.
Jurors heard how she tried to kill Baby K by dislodging her breathing tube less than two hours after she was born.
Baby K was transported to Arrowe Park Hospital and sadly died three days later - although prosecutors do not believe the nurse caused her death.
Letby became only the fourth woman ever to be handed whole life tariff after Rose West, Joanna Dennehy and Myra Hindley when she was sentenced.
She was originally convicted of seven counts of murder in August last year following a nine-month trial and 22 days of jury deliberation.
Jurors heard she used insulin and air to inject newborns while working on the neo-natal ward.
The collapses and deaths of the children were not “naturally-occurring tragedies” and instead the gruesome work of “poisoner” Letby, prosecutors argued.
Her rampage was finally uncovered after staff grew suspicious of the "significant rise" in the number of babies dying or .
The charges Letby has been convicted of in full
Child A, allegation of murder. The Crown said Letby injected air intravenously into the bloodstream of the baby boy. COUNT 1 GUILTY.
Child B, allegation of attempted murder. The Crown said Letby attempted to murder the baby girl, the twin sister of Child A, by injecting air into her bloodstream. COUNT 2 GUILTY.
Child C, allegation of murder. Prosecutors said Letby forced air down a feeding tube and into the stomach of the baby boy. COUNT 3 GUILTY.
Child D, allegation of murder. The Crown said air was injected intravenously into the baby girl. COUNT 4 GUILTY.
Child E, allegation of murder. The Crown said Letby murdered the twin baby boy with an injection of air into the bloodstream and also deliberately caused bleeding to the infant. COUNT 5 GUILTY.
Child F, allegation of attempted murder. Letby was said by prosecutors to have poisoned the twin brother of Child E with insulin. COUNT 6 GUILTY.
Child G, three allegations of attempted murder. The Crown said Letby targeted the baby girl by overfeeding her with milk and pushing air down her feeding tube. COUNT 7 GUILTY, COUNT 8 GUILTY, COUNT 9 NOT GUILTY.
Child H, two allegations of attempted murder. Prosecutors said Letby sabotaged the care of the baby girl in some way which led to two profound oxygen desaturations. COUNT 10 NOT GUILTY, COUNT 11 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT.
Child I, allegation of murder. The prosecution said Letby killed the baby girl at the fourth attempt and had given her air and overfed her with milk. COUNT 12 GUILTY.
Child J, allegation of attempted murder. No specific form of harm was identified by the prosecution but they said Letby did something to cause the collapse of the baby girl. COUNT 13 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT.
Child K, allegation of attempted murder. The prosecution said Letby compromised the baby girl as she deliberately dislodged a breathing tube. COUNT 14 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT AT ORIGINAL TRIAL, GUILTY AFTER RETRIAL
Child L, allegation of attempted murder. The Crown said the nurse poisoned the twin baby boy with insulin. COUNT 15 GUILTY.
Child M, allegation of attempted murder. Prosecutors said Letby injected air into the bloodstream of Child L's twin brother. COUNT 16 GUILTY.
Child N, three allegations of attempted murder. The Crown said Letby inflicted trauma in the baby boy's throat and also injected him with air in the bloodstream. COUNT 17 GUILTY, COUNT 18 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT, COUNT 19 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT.
Child O, allegation of murder. Prosecutors say Letby attacked the triplet boy by injecting him with air, overfeeding him with milk and inflicting trauma to his liver with "severe force". COUNT 20 GUILTY.
Child P, allegation of murder. Prosecutors said the nurse targeted the triplet brother of Child O by overfeeding him with milk, injecting air and dislodging his breathing tube. COUNT 21 GUILTY.
Child Q, allegation of attempted murder. The Crown said Letby injected the baby boy with liquid, and possibly air, down his feeding tube. COUNT 22 JURY COULD NOT REACH VERDICT.
Letby was found to be the "common denominator" among the horrifying incidents.
A public inquiry into how Letby was able to commit her crimes began in September, with closing legal submissions expected in March.
The findings of Lady Justice Thirlwall are expected to be published this autumn.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
A probe into whether Letby harmed any other babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women's Hospital is ongoing.
Letby has been interviewed at HMP Bronzefield in Ashford, Surrey, under caution in relation to the ongoing investigation.
