i am dr nigel scawn, i am the medical director here at the countess of chester hospital. say how deeply saddened and appalled we are at lucy letby's crimes. we are extremely sorry that these crimes were committed at our hospital. and our thoughts continue to be with all the families and loved ones of the babies who came to harm or who died. we cannot begin to understand what they have been through. this case has had a profound impact on our patients and our local community, and also our staff. they come to work every day determined to provide safe and high—quality care for all of our patients. our staff are devastated by what has happened, and we are committed to ensuring that lessons continue to be learned. we are grateful for the cooperation of our staff, especially those that have maintained the utmost professionalism was giving evidence in this trial. sometimes on multiple occasions. we will continue to support them and our other staff to ensure they receive the care and support that they need. we would like to extend our thanks to cheshire police for their extensive

has released a statement. tote countess of chester hospital has released a statement.— countess of chester _ released a statement. we have had a statement from tony _ released a statement. we have had a statement from tony chambers, - released a statement. we have had a statement from tony chambers, the | statement from tony chambers, the former chief executive of the countess of chester hospital nhs foundation trust. the statement says all my thoughts are with the children at the heart of this case and theirfamilies and children at the heart of this case and their families and loved children at the heart of this case and theirfamilies and loved ones children at the heart of this case and their families and loved ones at this incredibly difficult time. i am truly sorry for what all the families have gone through. the crimes that have been committed or appalling and i am deeply saddened by what has come to light. it goes on to say the trial and the lengthy police investigation has shown the complex nature of the issues raised. he says he will cooperate fully and openly with any post—trial i

and alsojust of chester hospital tonight.eople who works with lucy letby, who have revealed that they had concerns and did not only hold those concerns would express them to senior management and they were not always acted upon. a special investigation for bbc news and panorama has looted the mortality figures at the unit at the countess of chester hospital at that time when lucy letby was working. she has been convicted of the murders of seven babies and they have found out that in fact 13 babies died in that time period, which is around five times what it should have been, and lucy letby was repeatedly on duty as those babies died. 0ur social affairs correspondent michael buchanan explains in this exclusive report. this is the story of an nhs trust that didn't properly investigate why 13 babies died in a one—year period. instead, it turned against the very people who wanted the police to examine the deaths. there is only one serial killer of babies that has worked in that organisation, and the executive team were not the pe

what do we need to know. . , , , ., , chester hospital. what do we need to know. , _ , ., know.. lucy letby has been found guilty of murdering _ know. lucy letby has been found guilty of murdering seven - know. lucy letby has been found guilty of murdering seven babies| know. lucy letby has been found l guilty of murdering seven babies in her care at the countess of chester hospital and attempting to murder another six. this happened between june of 2015 and june of 2016. the jury june of 2015 and june of 2016. the jury at manchester crown court had been hearing this case for nine months. they have spent more than 110 hours deliberating these 22 counts, both of murder and attempted murder, against lucy letby. thejury was undecided on the attempted murder of a furtherfour was undecided on the attempted murder of a further four babies, but thatis murder of a further four babies, but that is the breaking news we're bringing you on bbc news. there has been a trial that has lasted nine months, 32,000 pages of evidence was put together by operation hummingbird, cheshire constabulary�*

we had a statement from doctor nigel scawn, the current medical director at the countess of chester hospitalremely sorry that these crimes were committed at our hospital. and our thoughts continue to be with all the families and loved ones of the babies who came to harm or who died. we cannot begin to understand what they have been through. this case has had a profound impact on our patients and our local community, and also our staff. they come to work every day determined to provide safe and high—quality care for all of our patients. our staff are devastated by what has happened, and we are committed to ensuring that lessons continue to be learned. we are grateful for the cooperation of our staff, especially those that have maintained the utmost professionalism was giving evidence in this trial, sometimes on multiple occasions. we will continue to support them and our other staff to ensure they receive the care and support that they need. we would like to extend our thanks to cheshire police for their extensive investigation and the work they did to bring this case to trial. we'd also like

0ur health correspondent dominic hughes is outside the countess of chester hospital. on what the hospital's current administration had to say about today's verdict. the current medical director, dr nigel scawn, he came out and made a statement. he didn't take any questions, but he did say that the hospital board were extremely sorry for what had happened. he said there has been a profound impact on the community, on staff and on patients. he said that staff were devastated by what had happened. he said lessons continued to be learned. he was grateful for the staff cooperating with both the inquiry and the trial for giving evidence at the trial. he thanked the police for the care that they had shown to the investigation and also for the support they gave to the families involved. and he thanked them, also, for the support to those families. and he said, "since lucy letby worked here", he said, we have made significant changes and we want to reassure everyone who accesses care and treatment here that those changes have been made". and he finally said that their thoughts

my colleague, health correspondent dominic hughes at countess of chester hospital. an update from the health minister and tell us what it's going to cover. �* , ., ., and tell us what it's going to cover. �*, ., ., ., ., ~ and tell us what it's going to cover. �*, ., ., ., ., ., cover. it's going to look into and a susect cover. it's going to look into and a suspect is — cover. it's going to look into and a suspect is going — cover. it's going to look into and a suspect is going to _ cover. it's going to look into and a suspect is going to be _ cover. it's going to look into and a suspect is going to be really - cover. it's going to look into and a suspect is going to be really deep| suspect is going to be really deep dive into the circumstances around the terrible events of them forwarded here at the countess of chester. i suspect the key part of thatis chester. i suspect the key part of that is going to be why the concerns of that group of consulting paediatricians over lucy letby it over the deaths in their unit in which they worked were not taken seriously and w

found guilty of murdering seven babies — and attempting to murder 6 more — at the countess of chester hospitalhe mp for the region welcomed the inquiry — but urged the government to ensure it can compel witnesses to give evidence. the hospital trust is facing more questions about why it didn't take action sooner after concerns were raised over the conduct of the nurse. our north of england correspondent judith moritz reports. lucy letby�*s mugshot is on every front page today. she's finally been exposed as britain's most prolific baby killer. but for years, this was the way she presented herself to the world as a smiling, caring, young nurse. so why did it take so long for the net to close in? just take seat in there for me, lucy. that's one of the questions that a newly announced independent inquiry will address. but there has been some criticism of its parameters. i do feel that there are some issues around the non—statutory decision in terms of the inquiry. a non—statutory inquiry would mean that witnesses are not compelled to give evidence, and i think that there are risks that uncooperati

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dominic, thank you, our health correspondent dominic hughes, he was outside the countess of chester hospitalment from the current medical director. ijust want statement from the current medical director. i just want to show you these pictures that have been released by cheshire police following those verdicts today, and these are pictures of lucy letby being arrested by their offices. you can see as they arrive at her home, she opens the door, they are inside for a period of ten or 15 minutes, and then you can see as she is brought out and taken to a waiting police car. you can see the expression on her face police car. you can see the expression on herface in particular as she walks down the driveway, walks to the police car to be taken off for questioning. these are new pictures from offices' body cameras that cheshire police have shared with the media at the conclusion of this trial. they have also talked about the interview process. of course, as we were saying, this has been a nine—month trial with thousands of pages of evidence, and around about 30 hours of interviews that were carried

tonight we'll ask why bosses at the countess of chester hospital failed to investigate the suspiciouss of so many babies, despite consultants repeatedly trying to blow the whistle about the numbers dying on letby�*s watch. the hospital didn't answer that or any other questions today. the answer may come via an inquiry which has been announced by england's health secretary. here's kate. did you have any concerns that there was a _ did you have any concerns that there was a rise _ did you have any concerns that there was a rise in— did you have any concerns that there was a rise in the mortality rate? yes _ yes. seven babies murdered in a neonatal unit, a further six the subject of murder attempts. the verdicts today make lucy letby the most prolific child killer in modern british history. the nurse had been trusted to care for the largely premature and vulnerable infants at the countess of chester hospital. she sought to deceive her colleagues and pass off the harm she caused as nothing more than a worsening of each baby's existing vulnerability. she perverted her learning and weaponis

lucy letby�*s crimes will resonate across the country — but particularly in the city of chester, where the hospitalom there now. annabel, chester is known for being a beautiful city and it is also a small city so when big things happen here, they really resonate. it doesn't get any bigger than this, that ugly building where lucy letby�*s worked at the countess, is a scene of happy memories for thousands of people across this region. i have been there for both of my kids. those memories are overtaken by the fact that is no mac a crime scene, one of the biggest killers of babies in british history. i have been speaking to people and got from them an overwhelming sense of shock but literally disbelief. # let's make music, have some fun #. the maternity department at the countess has made memories and changed lives for thousands around west cheshire and north wales. darla, asher and fran were all born there. i would recommend it to anybody. definitely. he was five weeks premature so we stayed at the neonatal unit for two weeks. we could not fault them, they were absolutely amazing. lucy letby�*s trial

we had evidence not just about lucy letby herself, but also the way in which the countess of chester hospitaldoctors' concerns. at the trial in manchester, one of the seven consultants has criticised the hospital in court. what today's shown in my mind is that there's no good outcome for the hospital here. you know, this consultant ravi jayaram saying he wished he'd just gone straight to the police and hadn't toed the party line. that's really stark. what we heard today really laid out the case beyond just lucy letby, but the wider picture of what was going on at that hospital. i think the hospital senior management will have some serious questions to answer, no matter how everything unfolds as a result of this trial. either we have, you know, someone who's causing deliberate harm on the neonatal unit, and concerns were raised, and they were not followed up on by... ..by senior management, or we have one, a case where the mortality rate at the neonatal unit was far higher than it should have been, unacceptably high, and not enough was done to mitigate against that. from the summer of 2016, lu

at the countess of chester hospital between june others.ester hospital betweenjune 2015 others. at the countess of chester hospital between june 2015 and june 2016 will stop she denies all charges. lucy gray has sent this update from manchester crown court. the jury have been deliberating for more than 100 hours at manchester crown court. last week the judge gave them a majority direction, meaning he would accept verdicts if ten out of 11 jurors were agreed. there has been a lot of evidence for them to talk through. the trial has been going on ten months now and they were given ipads at the start of the trial because they knew there would be so much evidence for them to sift through, thousands and thousands of pages of evidence. lucy letby, a 33—year—old nurse originally from hereford is charged with murdering seven babies and attempting to murder ten others during her time on the neonatal unit at the countess of chester hospital. the time referred to is betweenjune 2015 and june 2016. the neonatal unit is where babies would be taken if the

i'm here at the countess of chester hospital.there are many questions still remaining. yesterday, lucy letby was found guilty of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of another six. that doesn't mean that this is the end of it. there are many questions still today about what exactly happened here and how lucy letby was able to get away with what she got away with for quite so long. normally, at her the owner natal —— at neonatal unit, you would expect three deaths a year. injune 2015, there were three deaths in one month. that did raise concerns and there were alarm bells ringing with lots of staff here and we know that some questions were raised at that time. however, nothing was done and lucy letby went on to continue to murder and to harm many more babies. there are questions being asked about who knew what and what should have been done at that time. we know that it wasn't until may 2017 that police launched their investigation and lucy letby was arrested in 2018, three years after she started killing babies he

of course, of chester hospital. wanting now, now that we have those verdicts to have their say, cps , i'm sure, will their say, cps, i'm sure, will focus more on the impacts this has had on the families, but also the work behind the scenes that they have done to finally reach this verdict . reach this verdict. >> it is just extraordinary the amount of detail that we are getting, the number of babies who have been in volved. and i think many people will be dwelling on that particular detail that . two out of three detail that. two out of three triplets were murdered by this nurse, by lucy letby. to many people , that will strike out as people, that will strike out as something that is particularly evil . there will be a child evil. there will be a child growing up in britain today who's two siblings were killed by this nurse . by this nurse. >> yeah, that's that's the case, unfortunately. of course, we'll never know who that that third triple is because of the lifelong, lifelong anonymity that has been granted to him

nurse who murdered seven babies who were in her care at the neonatal unit at the countess of chester hospital and attempted to murder a further six. this is a trial which has continued for months, in fact nine months between the opening statements being made and thejury being sent out to consider those 22 charges against lucy letby, some of which, it is important to say, they failed to reach a verdict on, and we expect to hear in the next 20 days or so, the crown prosecution service have told us they will make a decision on whether or not to seek a retrial on those counts in which the jury retrial on those counts in which the jury was unable to decide whether lucy letby was guilty or not guilty. there are four families who haven't had verdict delivered on what happened to their children, so that is something of course that the crown prosecution service will be taking into account. of course many questions about how a nurse working on a neonatal ward, an ordinary woman in her 20s, a woman who the jury woman in her 20s, a woman who the jury he heard repeatedly from seeing her messages, seeing h

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let's go to the countess of chester hospital, dominic hughes, our health correspondent, is there. you were listening to that statement made by the current medical director of the hospital trust, remind us what they have said today at the conclusion of this trial. ~ , , trial. well, the first thing they said, trial. well, the first thing they said. really. — trial. well, the first thing they said, really, was— trial. well, the first thing they said, really, was to _ trial. well, the first thing they said, really, was to express i trial. well, the first thing they i said, really, was to express their thoughts, that they were with the families of the children who were murdered and seriously injured by lucy letby. the statement sort of went as far as it could come guess. i did try and throw a question to the medical director about why members of the trust seemed to protect lucy letby before she was arrested and when legitimate concerns had been raised by some of her colleagues, by the consultant paediatricians, but he obviously did not feel like he was in a position to answer that ques

yeah, the there's a lot of explaining to do at the council. >> chester hospital trust , >> chester hospitalay from lucy letby now. thank you very much for talking to us about that. want to talk a bit about that. i want to talk a bit more about matter how more about the matter and how much our don't more about the matter and how muccash our don't more about the matter and how muccash campaign. our don't more about the matter and how muccash campaign. our dobeen kill cash campaign. we've been handing in a petition yesterday i was on downing street with nigel farage, liam halligan bev turner michelle dewberry. we assembled a motley crew and we descended downing street descended on on downing street and we handed a petition with 300,000 signatures it. since 300,000 signatures on it. since then, there's been some action actually, i'm reading actually, because i'm reading here the public and here about give the public and businesses cash access within within a three mile radius of wherever you are. so we have got some action out of this campaign. why is that important? why is the campaign so impo

she worked here, in the neonatal unit at the countess of chester hospital.ole — to care of the most vulnerable infants, but that couldn't have been further from her mind. the crying, i've never heard anything like it since. it was screaming. it was screaming, and i was like, "what's the matter with them?" legally, we can't identify the families in this case, but the stories are distressing. these are the parents of twin boys born prematurely in 2015. their mum was taking milk to them when she heard one of her sons crying loudly. he had blood round his mouth. and lucy was there, but faffing about and not really doing anything. lucy said, "don't worry, the registrar was coming." and then she told me to go back to the ward. the baby's mum left him in this intensive care area and went to call her husband. they thought their son was in safe hands with nurse letby, but a short time later, they were told he was dangerously ill and they rushed back to find doctors trying to save him. we were taken in, and we were told to talk to him and hold his hand. and then... ..

we had evidence not just about lucy letby herself, but also the way in which the countess of chester hospitaltrial in manchester, one of the seven consultants has criticised the hospital in court. what today's shown in my mind is that there's no good outcome for the hospital here. you know, this consultant ravi jayaram saying he wished he'd just gone straight to the police and hadn't toed the party line. that's really stark. what we heard today really laid out the case beyond just lucy letby, but the wider picture of what was going on at that hospital. i think the hospital senior management will have some serious questions to answer, no matter how everything unfolds as a result of this trial. either we have, you know, someone who's causing deliberate harm on the neonatal unit, and concerns were raised, and they were not followed up on by... ..by senior management, or we have one, a case where the mortality rate at the neonatal unit was far higher than it should have been, unacceptably high, and not enough was done to mitigate against that. from the summer of 2016, lucy letby was moved to admi

has announced an independent inquiry into the murders and attempted murders at the countess of chester hospitalviction. the department of health says that that inquiry will investigate the wider circumstances around what happened at the hospital, and it will include any handling of concerns. governance will be looked at as well. it will also look at what actions were taken by regulators and by the wider nhs. the government says the inquiry will be launched to ensure vital lessons are learned and to provide answers to the parents and families impacted. health secretary steve barclay says: "i am determined the families�* voices are heard, and they are involved in shaping the scope of the inquiry should they wish to do so. "following on from the work already under way by nhs england, it will help us identify where and how patient safety standards failed to be met." that is something that the families even at the conclusion of this trial were calling for, some sort of answers into how this could have happened for so long, because lucy letby�*s crimes that were dealt with in this trial over a period

for a year, the countess of chester hospital in the summer of 2015 and the summer of 2016 when 13 babiesxplained circumstances. and we now know that the pediatricians at the unit, the neonatal unit, were raising concerns about what was happening. the board were not made aware of this problem despite the number of deaths being significantly higher than they usually were. but in the summer of 2016, they did become aware of it. and one of the things they decided to do at that point was to launch a series of external independent investigations to try and understand why these babies were dying. and none of these investigations would ever properly commissioned are properly completed. and they never got to the bottom of what was happening. but what what sir duncan nichol, the former chairman of said in a statement this morning, is that he feels that the board was misled by the by the managers of the trust and particularly refers to a document they were giving in december of 2016, in which he says that they were told explicitly there was no criminal activity pointing to any one individual when i

she did placements at the countess of chester hospital at liverpool women's hospital and the trust thereou. m rumble on for years to come. thank you- my colleague _ rumble on for years to come. thank you. my colleague who _ rumble on for years to come. thank you. my colleague who has - rumble on for years to come. thank you. my colleague who has been . rumble on for years to come. thank you. my colleague who has been in | you. my colleague who has been in court throughout. this trial is believed to be the longest murder trial in british legal history and has lasted ten months. the legal part has concluded in the past hour orso part has concluded in the past hour or so at manchester crown court. we brought you the sentencing remarks by the judge, brought you the sentencing remarks by thejudge, mrjustice brought you the sentencing remarks by the judge, mrjustice goss, brought you the sentencing remarks by thejudge, mrjustice goss, who presided over the trial and laid out in clear detail the cold and calculating nature of lucy letby's crimes, the way in which she murdered and attempted to m

she's the nurse who was convicted of murdering seven babies at a hospital in chester.tish columbia has declared a state of emergency — as the country deals with its worst wildfire season on record. residents of the remote northern city of yellowknife have been scrambling to leave. an official deadline to evacuate the area has already passed. now on bbc news... this cultural life: nicola benedetti. nicola benedetti, one of the world's great violinists. she's been playing since the age of four, and at 16, won the bbc young musician of the year award. the winner of the 2004 young musician of the year is nicola benedetti! cheering and applause. she's now renowned for the passion of her live concerts. for her work with contemporary composers, including a grammy—winning collaboration with wynton marsalis, and setting up her own musicalfoundation. in this episode of this cultural life, the radio four podcast, she reveals her formative influences

we are outside the countess of chester| outside the countess of chester hospital and of course, it is very much in the news right now but it is also a busy working hospital. we have seen several families going into their maternity unit today and into their maternity unit today and into their maternity unit today and into the hospital. we have seen some pregnant women, some with young babies and of course this has caused real concern in the community here. this hospital doesn'tjust cover chester, it also covers part of west cheshire and also part of north—east wales. what we know is, what we've had since lucy letby was convicted yesterday was that concerns were raised by doctors here about the increase in baby deaths back in 2016. an extended in pen independent review was started. he believes the board were misled and they were told explicitly that there was no criminal activity pointing at any one individual. as you mentioned earlier, the government has launched an independent inquiry into what happened and duncan nicole says he will cooperate. tony chambers, talking about whistle—blo

we do l expect to hear from the countess of chester hospital in the next few hours.ter crown court there are microphones ready for statements that we are expecting from cheshire constabulary, who investigated lucy letby and her offending. the crown prosecution service put this case together. also a statement on behalf of the families. we expect the family liaison officer to step forward and deliver the response from the family. we know that some of the families were calling for a public inquiry into lucy letby�*s offending, how she was able to carry out these crimes and carry them out undetected for so long. it is worth reflecting as well, dan, we were talking about the family liaison officer. perhaps unusually in this case, the identities of the victims and their families have case, the identities of the victims and theirfamilies have been protected. 0ften and theirfamilies have been protected. often in a murder case will know the identity of the victim, but here the children's names, not within court, but within the wider reporting of the case in the wider reportin

she's the nurse who was convicted of murdering seven babies at a hospital in chester.ith hugh ferris. hello and welcome to sportsday. i'm hugh ferris. 0ur headlines this evening. the lionesses will soon wake up for the biggest day of their sporting lives, one that could write their names into football history. i think everyone knows how big this is. i think it's been the players' dream for years, so everyone already knows that. while back home still one more sleep to go for these fans and millions

well, after a chester hospital.lison pearson has gone viral for capturing the utter fury and outrage felt by so many of us writing in letby case has revealed an nhs rat rancid with cover up and corruption. she adds that nhs management is in thrall to a warped human resources culture that puts the wellbeing of nhs staff above the safety of patients. so alison pearson, look, firstly that column was so brilliant , look, firstly that column was so brilliant, it completely encapsulated everything that i felt about this. but i know you have been working all week. you have been working all week. you have new information, you're uncovering more and more and you're very angry. but also incredibly emotional about this , aren't you? >> yeah, i talked to a lot of people down. people have been in tears. you couldn't you couldn't read the victim impact statements from the parents without sobbing. i mean, it's just absolutely devastating. what that dreadful woman did laying in ambush, killing one twin on one day, laying in ambush

well, after a chester hospital.lison pearson has gone viral for capturing the utter fury and outrage felt by so many of us writing in letby case has revealed an nhs rat rancid with cover up and corruption. she adds that nhs management is in thrall to a warped human resources culture that puts the wellbeing of nhs staff above the safety of patients. so alison pearson, look, firstly that column was so brilliant , look, firstly that column was so brilliant, it completely encapsulated everything that i felt about this. but i know you have been working all week. you have been working all week. you have new information, you're uncovering more and more and you're very angry. but also incredibly emotional about this , aren't you? >> yeah, i talked to a lot of people down. people have been in tears. you couldn't you couldn't read the victim impact statements from the parents without sobbing. i mean, it's just absolutely devastating. what that dreadful woman did laying in ambush, killing one twin on one day, laying in ambush

, thejudge the countess of chester hospital, the judge said that was the only sentence is appropriate was looking after the sickest and most premature babies, who presented on the outside a vision or somebody compassionate and caring, medically qualified, somebody helping those parents through the most difficult moments of their lives, and who we now know was murdering and attempting to murder the babies in her care. it is a case that has shocked the uk, and the fact this whole life sentence has been handed down really shows the severity of this case. thejudge shows the severity of this case. the judge talked about malevolence bordering on sadism. he talked about the premeditated nature of these crimes. the way lucy letby had tried to cover up what she did. there have only been very few criminals who have been given these horror life sentences and been told they will never be released from prison. but in the case of lucy letby, who the judge said had shown no remorse for what she did, that was an appropriate sentence for her to be given. she is now the most prolific killer of babies a

they had taken it to management at the countess of chester hospital and management had not responded.s is one of the big questions that will continue to be asked, why when a group of medics said they had concerns about lucy letby, that was not acted upon sooner and she was able to continue working on the neonatal ward and continue being able to murder and attempted murder children. as we hear some of these harrowing, and i will keep saying this throughout the day because some of these victim impact statements are distressing, they are parents reliving the worst moments of their lives, describing how they lost their children, and then discovered that the nurse who had been caring for their children was responsible for their children was responsible for either ending their lives or attempting to. the mother of baby d is still in the witness box. she is delivering her witness impact statement in person. she is holding a toy rabbit as she does this. she said, i continued ending it all. i was hoping so hard that if i went to the other side i would see my daughter. my prayers have given me

the inquiry will examine the experience of consultants at the countess of chester hospital who say seniorncerns about letby for many months. it was secretive. it wasjudgmental. there was no credibility given to our opinions. and from january 2017, it was intimidating. bullying, to a certain extent. the consultants believe that lucy letby could have been murdering babies and yet they were forced to send her this apology letter, which says, we'd like to apologise for any inappropriate comments. we're very sorry for the stress and upset that you've experienced during the past year. whilst lucy letby was working at the hospital, it was promoting itself as being a supportive environment for staff. this video has emerged of the former chief executive in 2014. as a chief exec, i pledge to support a culture where the front line staff are supported in raising concerns and more importantly, me listening to them when they do. tony chambers has told the bbc that as chief executive, my focus was on the safety of the baby unit and the well—being of patients and staff. i was open and inclusive as i resp

, thejudge the countess of chester hospital, the judge said that was the only sentence is appropriateas a nurse looking after the sickest and most premature babies, who presented on the outside a vision or somebody compassionate and caring. medically qualified. somebody who was helping those parents through the most difficult moments in their lives. and who we now know was murdering and attempting to murder the babies in her care. it is a case that has shocked the uk and the fact this whole life sentence has been handed down really shows the severity of this case. the judge talked about malevolence bordering on sadism. he talked about the premeditated nature of these crimes. the way lucy letby had tried to cover up what she did. and there have only been very few criminals who have been given these whole life sentences, and been told they will never be released from prison. but in the case of lucy letby, who the judge said had shown no remorse for what she did, that was an appropriate sentence for her to be given. she is now the most prolific killer of babies and children in modern bri

and attempting to murder ten others during her time on the neonatal unit at the countess of chester hospitalould be taken if they were sick or premature, they would go there soon after birth. it is the prosecution's case, they claim she attacked these babies in a variety of ways, by injecting them with insulin, using that as a poison, or injecting them with air, by overfeeding them, or by tampering with their feeding tubes or in some cases by inflicting physical trauma. they said the one thing that links these instances, these deaths and near fatal collapses, was that lucy letby was on shift at the time. lucy letby denied all the charges against her. she was in court for 1h days giving evidence. her defence is that this could have happened through natural occurrences. she also talked about the neonatal unit saying it was overstretched and understaffed. she talked about serious failings in the unit itself. her parents, lucy letby�*s parents have been in court throughout the case over the last ten months, and also the families of the 17 babies have been here. they have been in court here in ma

independent inquiry will investigate the wider circumstances of what happened at the countess of chester hospital did or didn't do the right thing. but by any measure what has happened here appears to be, to involve serious failings by the former management at that hospital, there has been criticism particularly of the former chief executive tony chambers, the former medical director ian harvey. they have both said they will cooperate fully with that inquiry. today we heard a former director of nursing alison kelly has been suspended from her current nhs job. she has been approached for comment but is yet to respond. in terms of other things which are still going on apart from that inquiry, the prosecution have until the 15th of september to decide whether or not to apply for a retrial on some of the attempted murder charges that the attempted murder charges that the jury was unable to decide on here, and touch a police say they are continuing with investigation, looking at the possibility that letby could yet be charged with further offences. this is not the last we have heard of britain's most

managers in charge of the countess of chester hospital at the time lucy letby was muddling and attemptingrs tried to raise the alarm over lucy letby but the lead consultant in the neonatal unit said bosses were more married about reputational damage to the hospital. —— more worried. stephen brearey said there was no accountability for nhs managers, a view shared by the british medical association. view shared by the british medical association-— view shared by the british medical association. ~ . , , , association. what is unacceptable is the lack of accountability _ association. what is unacceptable is the lack of accountability in - the lack of accountability in non—clinical managers making decisions remote from patient care, affecting patient care adversely, and then when they leave one organisation, they seem to pop up at another one. 50 organisation, they seem to pop up at another one-— another one. so does this terrible case of lucy _ another one. so does this terrible case of lucy letby _ another one. so does this terrible case of lucy letby tell _ another one. so does this terribl

convicted of the murder of seven babies and attempting to murder six others at the countess of chester hospitala short while ago — the prime minister rishi sunak said it was "cowardly that people who commit such horrendous crimes do not face their victims". straight to manchester. anna foster is there for us now. we are slowly but surely hearing these very difficult personal statements being made to the judge during sentencing. lucy letby is not there. she will not hear them, will seek? ,, , ., . , seek? she is here at manchester crown court. _ seek? she is here at manchester crown court, she _ seek? she is here at manchester crown court, she was _ seek? she is here at manchester crown court, she was brought i seek? she is here at manchester crown court, she was brought to j crown court, she was brought to court from prison this morning as she has been for every stage of this process, but last week as the final verdicts were delivered it is worth reminding you as well those verdicts were delivered over a series of hearings. there were none for different hearings on the court where the jury retu

managers in charge of the countess of chester hospital at the time lucy letby was murdering and attemptingons to answer. doctors tried to raise the alarm over lucy letby but the lead consultant in the neonatal unit said bosses were more worried about reputational damage to the hospital. dr stephen brearey said there was no accountability for nhs managers, a view shared by the british medical association. what is unacceptable is the lack of accountability in non—clinical managers making decisions remote from patient care, affecting patient care adversely, and then when they leave one organisation, they seem to pop up at another one. so does this terrible case of lucy letby tell us something about the wider culture in the nhs? we have heard it described that some parts of the nhs, the culture is toxic, is that something you would agree with? there are certainly organisations and departments we have had it fed back that you would conclude nothing less than a toxic and hostile environment. doctors and nurses have professional bodies that regulate their conduct. no such organisation exists for

the count at chester hospital in 2015-2016. mr count at chester hospital in 2015—2016.ns. the remaining 11 jurors will continue the deliberations tomorrow. two drug dealers who stabbed the aspiring lawyer 22—year—old sven bazdak to death in a case of mistaken identity have been handed life sentences for his murder. sven and a 16—year old friend were attacked as they returned from a trip to waitrose in north—west london in february 2021. rashid gedel and shiroh ambersley have been sentenced at old bailey with a minimum term of 27 years. homeware retailer wilko has warned that is heading towards administration. the business, well—known for its affordable everyday items, employs 12,000 people, has around 400 stores across britain. it says it's facing mounting cash pressures, and has taken the difficult decision to seek administrators as it tries to secure a rescue deal. you're live with bbc news. us and canadian fire crews are still battling to contain a wildfire that nearly engulfed the town of osyos in british columbia over the weekend, forcing hundreds of people to evac

convicted of the murder of seven babies and attempting to murder six others at the countess of chester hospital, she'll be sentenced today at manchester crown court. but she's indicated that she wont attend the hearing. her refusal to be in court has led to renewed calls for a law forcing convicted criminals to attend their sentencing in person. let's head straight to manchester. anna foster is there for us now. anna, personal statements will be made to the judge during sentencing, but lucy letby won't be there to hear them? that is correct. lucy letby�*s legal team at the suggestion that while she is in court here, she would not return to the dock in the courtroom for what will be a lengthy sentencing process today. she was convicted over a period of several hearings of seven counts of murder, attempting to murder another six babies in her care. that is why this will be a long process today, because as you say, one of the key features of sentencing in the uk now is victim impact statements. this is where the families of those babies have been able to put in words what an ordeal this has been f

she's the nurse who was convicted of murdering seven babies at a hospital in chester.en — including a six—year—old child. ukrainian officials say another 110 people were wounded when the missile landed in the centre of chernihiv — 25 have been taken to hosptial. in football, sweden have beaten australia in the third—place play—off game in the women's world cup. they won 2—0. the result was a disappointment for the australian team — known as the matildas — who were hoping to secure victory in front of a home crowd in brisbane. now on bbc news... the travel show: how does a blind girl go on safari? part two. good girl, straight on. oh, i want you two to come so badly, but i don't want you to be eaten by lions. a lion and a buffalo? yes, he wanted to hunt. music plays. kenya has been at warfor decades. its enemy? the poachers who prey on its precious wildlife. impossible route in and impossible route out. ol pejeta conservancy's canine unit are just one of the many groups across africa taking up the fight against poaching.

at so as mark said, 4000 other babies that were under her care, not just at the countess of chester hospitales women's hospital as well, because she started over ten years ago, didn't she, as nurse? >> absolutely. so every place she has been, every shift, one of the things is crime pattern analysis. to be looking at the any injury that occurred when she was on duty and going through every shift roster that she was on that will give an early indication of whether they can say to a parent, look , your can say to a parent, look, your child suffered the injury and she was off duty, so you can give some people some kind of assurance nearly straight away. give some people some kind of ass now,a nearly straight away. give some people some kind of ass now, thisarly straight away. give some people some kind of ass now, this isy straight away. give some people some kind of ass now, this is astraight away. give some people some kind of ass now, this is a trickyt away. give some people some kind of ass now, this is a tricky one ay. >> now, this is a tricky one because these are allegations where it's su

lucy letby had worked at the countess of chester children's hospital since 2012.early 2015, she qualified to work in the neonatal high dependency and intensive care units. onjune 8 that year, she committed her first murder. for the next 12 months, the attacks continued. injune 2016, two babies died in two days. 0n the third day, another baby collapsed. letby was taken off clinical duties. two years later, letby was arrested for the first time. police found medical records under her bed and hand—scrawled notes. "i am a horrible, evil person," one says. "i am evil. i did this," says another. "i don't deserve to live. i killed them on purpose because i'm not good enough to care for them. i am a horrible, evil person." a confession — or, as letby claimed — the tormented thoughts of someone accused of heinous crimes. the trial was told letby had used hard—to—detect methods to carry out her attacks. in her hands, innocuous substances like air, milk or medication like insulin would become lethal. she perverted her learning and weaponised her craft to inflict harm, grief