Crime & justice

Lucy Letby's Lawyer Claims New Evidence Shows Innocence

AUG 19 2025·Updated AUG 20 2025

Story

Above: Police camera footage of former U.K. nurse Lucy Letby's arrest in Chester, England, on July 3, 2018. Image credit: Cheshire Constabulary/Getty Images

The Facts

Mark McDonald, the lawyer for Lucy Letby — the ex-nurse who received 15 life sentences for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others at the U.K.'s Countess of Chester Hospital from 2015 to 2016 — has said his client has "new hope" due to "new evidence."
The Independent
The Times (UK)
Earlier this year, McDonald assembled 14 neonatal and pediatric experts who reviewed the babies' medical notes and concluded that no murders were committed, claiming the deaths resulted from poor care or natural causes. They also cast doubt on the prosecution's medical evidence. Lawyers for the families of the babies dismissed the validity of these findings.
The Independent
The Times (UK)
Daily Mail
This comes as new internal hospital documents obtained by The Daily Mail reportedly show Letby formally reported multiple alleged incidents of poor care and resource shortages in the neonatal unit in 2015 and 2016, including about missing medical supplies during baby emergencies, failures in medication administration and inadequate staffing. McDonald alleges that Letby was targeted for reporting the incidents.
Daily Mail
The Telegraph
McDonald is submitting new evidence to the Criminal Cases Review Commission and expects a decision around the new year regarding whether Letby's case will be referred back to the Court of Appeal.
The Independent
The Times (UK)
Meanwhile, the BBC recently admitted that in last week's documentary about Letby, it aired incorrect statistics about her neonatal shifts, such as wrongly claiming tube dislodgements were 40 times higher than normal. The broadcaster has made corrections to the documentary.
The Telegraph
Express.co.uk
BBC News
Following prison staff reports that Letby has been targeted by other inmates, she's been placed under 24-hour guard at HMP Bronzefield prison in Surrey, with staff checking on her every 15 minutes under an assessment, care in custody and teamwork order.
Birmingham Live
The Scottish Sun

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The Spin

Government-critical narrative

The evidence against Letby is fundamentally flawed and based on disputed medical theories rather than solid forensic proof. McDonald's international expert panel has systematically dismantled the prosecution's case, showing the insulin tests were unreliable and the statistical analysis was wrong. The hospital documents prove Letby was actually a whistleblower trying to improve patient care, not a killer.

The Times (UK)

Pro-government narrative

While lawyers will always throw claims out to discredit police work, Letby's guilt has been tested by two juries and two sets of appeal judges after a six-year probe involving 70 officers, 32,000 documents and expert testimony. The police insist no stone was left unturned, and the families' suffering should not be dismissed by speculative reports conducted by biased panels.

Nursing Times

Limited Coverage

This story currently has limited reporting from left-wing sources. We will continue to monitor all major outlets and update our coverage as additional perspectives become available.