i am 'ust auoin countess of chester hospital... of chester hospital... i am just going to stop — countess of chester hospital... i am just going to stop you _ countess of chester hospital... i am just going to stop you there, because we are about to hear from the countess of chester hospital, we can see walking towards the camera, dr nigel scawn, the medical director at the foundation trust. i am dr nigel scawn, i am the medical director here at the countess of chester hospital. i speak for the whole trust when i 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 dev

has released a statement. tote countess of chester hospital has released a statement.— countesstement from _ 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 p

yes, the countess of chester hospital trust _ far? far? yes, the countess of chester hospital trust said it _ far? yes, the countess of chester hospital trust said it is _ far? yes, the countess of chester hospital trust said it is deeply - hospital trust said it is deeply saddened and appalled by the crime are lucy letby saying its staff are devastated by what has happened and they have said the changes have already been made to processes here since lucy letby worked here. thank ou so since lucy letby worked here. thank you so much. _ since lucy letby worked here. thank you so much, more _ since lucy letby worked here. thank you so much, more details - since lucy letby worked here. thank you so much, more details on - since lucy letby worked here. thank you so much, more details on our. you so much, more details on our website. the western canadian province of british colombia has declared a state of emergency as the country deals with its worst wildfire season on record. the city of kelowna is under threat after embers blew across a

in i the countess of chester hospital in chester, _ the countess of chester hospital in chester _ the countess of chester hospital in chester, with specialist training - the countess of chester hospital in chester, with specialist training inl chester, with specialist training in intensive — chester, with specialist training in intensive care, _ chester, with specialist training in intensive care, you _ chester, with specialist training in intensive care, you murdered - chester, with specialist training in i intensive care, you murdered seven babies— intensive care, you murdered seven babies and — intensive care, you murdered seven babies and attempted _ intensive care, you murdered seven babies and attempted to _ intensive care, you murdered seven babies and attempted to murder- intensive care, you murdered seven babies and attempted to murder six others _ babies and attempted to murder six others in _ babies and attempted to murder six others in the — babies and attempted to murder six others. in the case _ babies and attempted to murder six others. in the case of— babies and

, the most prolific killer, a serial killer of children, of babies in her care, at the countess of chester hospital of lucy letby, the specialist neonatal nurse who was employed at the countess of chester hospital. she has been found guilty of murdering seven babies in her care and attempting to murder and other six. 0ur correspondent is outside the court in the last few moments, and as mentioned, we have had information from inside the courtroom that there were gasps in courtroom that there were gasps in court from the babies' families. somejurors also court from the babies' families. some jurors also appeared upset as they were discharged from service. the prosecution have indicated they want 28 days to consider whether to seek a retrial on the six undecided counts which will relate to poor babies. this trial has been ongoing for many weeks. she was first arrested in 2018? she for many weeks. she was first arrested in 2018?— arrested in 2018? she was actually arrested in 2018? she was actually arrested three _ arrested in 2018? she was actually arrested three times _ arrested in 2018? she was act

saying, of course questions are now being asked about the hospital in which these crimes took place. the neonatal unit at the countess of chester her offending and those concerns were not taken seriously. we have heard from the hospital today and from some of the former staff who worked there as well at the same time as lucy letby. 0ur health correspondent is outside the countess of chester hospital now. let's start with what we heard today from the current administration. they made a statement. what did they have to say? statement. what did they have to sa ? ., , statement. what did they have to sa ? . , . say? yeah, they did. the current medical director, _ say? yeah, they did. the current medical director, he _ say? yeah, they did. the current medical director, he came - say? yeah, they did. the current medical director, he came out i say? yeah, they did. the current. medical director, he came out and made a statement but did not 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 there has been a profound impact on the community, o

she worked here, on the neonatal unit at the countess of chester hospital.er role — to care for the most premature and 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 h

leading the team of seven consultants at the l team of seven consultants at the countess of chester hospitalhester hospital, who shared concerns about the deaths. he spoke tojudith moritz. if we go back to the summer of 2015, when did you first become concerned? a review of the care of all three babies was done, and there was nothing in common that we could pin these three deaths on. but the static analysis did identify that lucy letby was on shift for those three episodes. and did that worry you? well, i think i can remember saying, oh no, it can't be lucy, nice lucy. tell me about when you remember first meeting lucy letby. i don't recall the first time that i met lucy letby. she started work in 2012. she didn't strike me as too different to most nurses on the unit. you didn't have any worries about her doing thejob? i don't think anybody did. it is something that nobody really wants to consider, you know, that a member of staff might be harming the babies under your care. can you give us a sense of what was happening in the unit over the summer and autumn of 2015 in terms of there being m

stephen brearey was one of the team of consultants working in the neonatal unit at the countess of chester hospitalhambers, former chief executive of the countess of chester hospital nhs foundation trust, has released a statement. it reads, "all my thoughts are with the 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 are appalling, and i am deeply saddened by what has come to light." "the trial, and the lengthy police investigation, have shown the complex nature of the issues raised." "i will co—operate fully and openly with any post—trial inquiry." and of course since that statement, the government has announced there will be an independent inquiry into lucy letby�*s offending during her time at the countess of chester hospital. we have been talking about the emotions, some of the distressing imagery and testimony. if you are in the uk and you need some advice or some support, it is worth taking a look at the bbc action line, you can find a l

about problems in the hospital, the mortality rate, and as we have been sang, one of the things that first raised concerns was the increased mortality rate at the countess of chesterletby began working there in the neonatal unit, has been essentially an average number of child deaths in a unit like that, where you are dealing with the most premature babies, a certain number sadly do not survive, but they noticed in that particular unit, at the countess of chester hospital, that the number was far higher than it should have been. we saw her being asked about that, lucy letby acknowledging that the nursing staff were aware of that having happened, and it is something they had been talking about among themselves. and we heard through the trial from various colleagues of lucy letby, people who worked with her during the first time, reflecting on what a difficult time that was for all of them, because as those months passed, and as babies were having these unexplained medical episodes, some of them dying, some surviving but with life changing consequences. at that stage, nobody has yet identified the common factor that was lucy letby, that she was on shift, that she wa

hospital's response. again, there are comparisons with lucy letby. at the countess of chesternot properly investigate how 13 babies had died unexpectedly in a single year, even though doctors had raised concerns. susan gilby took over running the nhs trust soon after lucy letby�*s arrest. the paediatricians were discussing, you know, the terrible nights on call that they were having. one of them said, "every time this is happening to me, that i'm being called in for these catastrophic events which were unexpected and unexplained, lucy letby is there," and then somebody else said, "yes, i have found that". and then someone else had the same response, and they all realised that the common factor for each of them was letby�*s presence on the unit. the first three babies died injune 2015. senior managers agreed to hold an external investigation. that never happened. four months later, four more babies were dead, and a staff analysis linked lucy letby to every one of them. by the following february, ten babies had died, but when doctors ask two senior managers for an urgent meeting

well, let's go to the countess of chester hospital now.. gill, as the ministerjust said the trust has big questions to answer about the time it took for letby to be removed from the special care baby unit. yes. the first murder she was convicted of, baby a, was injune 2015. the last 7 a year later, shortly before she was removed from the unit. now, this was a small unit, senior clinicians were asking questions fairly early on about the sharp increase in the death rate. but one of them has told the bbc that senior managers just many questions being raised, the former chief inspector told us that no concerns were raised to him before june 2016 no concerns were raised to him beforejune 2016 and then they acted. he also said the police were called in following a meeting but he said his thoughts are with the children at the heart of the case, their families children at the heart of the case, theirfamilies and children at the heart of the case, their families and loved children at the heart of the case, theirfamilies and loved ones children at t

they were being cared for at the neonatal unit of the countess of chester hospital. only five days old, one of the boys suddenly became unwell. in the corridor, i could immediately hear crying or... it was, it felt more than crying. and i walked into the room, seeing it was my boy and he had blood round his mouth. and, and lucy was there, but faffing about, not really, not doing anything. you know when it feels like somebody wants to look busy but they're not actually doing anything? the crying, um, i've never heard anything like it since. it was screaming and i was like, "what...what�*s the matter with him?" lucy said, "oh, don't worry." she has this really calm demeanour about her and she's very softly spoken. don't worry, the registrar was coming. she'd already contacted him. he was on his way. she told me to go back to the ward. i was trying to reassure my wife that, listen, these people are experts and, you know, if they say there's not a problem, you've got nothing to worry about. and that was the first phone call, quickly followed up by a second phone call, um

at the countess of chester hospital between june others. ster 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 they

months of lucy letby�*s nursing career when she was working on that neonatal ward at the countess of chester hospitalween june 2015 and june 2016. the countess of chester hospital betweenjune 2015 and june 2016. we have already heard since the conclusion of this trial at the liverpool women's hospital, somewhere lucy worked and it placements earlier in her career, they have said that they are going to be looking back at the time that she spent there. this will no doubt become a larger and more all—encompassing investigation into the kind of nurse lucy letby was, a woman who we now know was a serial killer, who is the worst, frankly, in modern times, killer of children and babies. seven children who she was found to have murdered in her care. she will no doubt receive a significant custodial sentence for those murders and attempted murders. thejudge, mrjustice goss, has said that the court will return on monday to hear those sentences, that they will take some time to consider the gravity of what has happened, the impact on the families as well over those babies who lost their lives. and it is worth t

hospital? 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

babies in her care whilst she was working on the neonate battle unit at the countess of chester hosphal the countess of chester hospitalhe originally from hereford. she had denied all charges she had been charged with murdering seven babies and attempting to kill ten others. this was at the countess of chester hospital. the trial has lasted . some nine the trial has lasted. some nine months. here is the latest on this break news story. jurors have delivered their verdict. our north—west of england, reporter sophie reaper has the story . story. >> how loosely is this the most horrific crime possible ? horrific crime possible? >> the murder of a baby back in 2018? >> lucy letby was arrested on suspicion of just that . suspicion of just that. >> did you have any concerns that there was a rise in the mortality rate ? mortality rate? >> yes. okay. so tell me about that. what concerns did you have . that we don't just notice as as a team in general, the nurses strike that this was a rise compared to previous years. >> new parents here at the countess of chester hospital put their trust in the staff on its neonatal unit that

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 que

attempted murder of six others between june 2015 and june 2016 at the countess of chester hosphaps at the countess of chester hospital's neonatal ward. the 33 year old will be sentenced on monday. an independent inquiry will be held into the case of lucy letby and will examine the circumstances surrounding the deaths and incidents the department of health has said the parents of baby l and twin brother baby m, who let b attempted to kill shortly after their birth, spoke anonymously ahead of the verdicts . ahead of the verdicts. >> when i went down, i saw doctors around the trolley and there just pumping his heart like like a rag doll, really. he was just like a doll. and they were just going like that , like were just going like that, like that to chest . that to the chest. >> she was very cool, calm , >> she was very cool, calm, calculated and criminal minded lady. but we didn't notice anything at the time. >> it's hard to put into words just how it could on just how it could have gone on so long, why it went on so long. these are the answers we need just an evil person. there's no way she should have been able to get

we have heard from the hospital where this happened, the countess of chester hospital, where lucy letbyeonatal unit. and here and manchester crown court, at the conclusion of the trial, we also heard from some of the people who were responsible for the people who were responsible for the investigation and prosecution case as well. a short while ago, detective chief inspector nicola evans of cheshire police gave her reaction to the verdict. this has been a long and emotional journey for all of the families involved in this case. i speak on behalf of the entire prosecution team when i say that all of their babies will forever be in our hearts. i would like to thank all of the families in this case for their exceptional resilience and strength throughout this entire investigation. their composure and their dignity during this trial has been truly overwhelming. the investigation into the circumstances surrounding this case started in may 2017. since that time, hundreds of witnesses have been spoken to by a team of dedicated detectives. many of those witnesses have returned to court on numer

she worked here, in the neonatal unit at the countess of chester hospital.f 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 is 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." 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 a conversatio

hospital. thank you, dan. my colleague, health correspondent dominic hughes, is at the countess of chester hospital. administration made today, we have also heard from some of the people who are in charge, in very senior positions, at the time that lucy letby was carrying out her crimes. what have they had to say in response to this? we crimes. what have they had to say in response to this?— response to this? we have had statements. — response to this? we have had statements, written _ response to this? we have had l statements, written statements, response to this? we have had . statements, written statements, i should — statements, written statements, i should say, from both the former chief_ should say, from both the former chief executive and the former medical— chief executive and the former medical director at the countess of chester_ medical director at the countess of chester who have both said how profoundly sorry they were for what occurred. _ profoundly sorry they were for what occurred, and they have both said that their— occurred, and they have both said that their thoughts are with the

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

year—old nurse who murdered seven babies in her care and attempted to murder six more at the countess of chester hospitalhe judge said that was the only sentence is appropriate because of the severity of the crimes. this was 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 s

year—old nurse who murdered seven babies in her care and attempted to murder six more at the countess of chester hospitalthat was the only sentence is appropriate because of the severity of the crimes. this was a nurse who 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,

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hospital. and could that result in, in further charges down the line? possibly. we have informed a number of parents already that we're investigating their child, and they're being supported. the countess of chesteronly been one death in seven years. can expectant mothers coming into the unit have confidence? i think those parents can expect as high a level of care on our unit than any other unit in the country, really. it's upsetting, this. mm. we've got through a particularly hard time, and... i think we owe it to the families, for them to know that the staff care. lucy letby now faces years in prison for harming babies in her care. but why did she do it? what turned a likeable, fun—loving nurse into a serial killer? i don't think we know why, why lucy letby has done this. and that's really difficult to take. i can't imagine how a parent must feel. it'sjust beyond your- imagination that somebody's on a ward, killing babies. it's unbelievable. she had everything going for her, and then starts killing babies. what happened ? i think it's something that we'll never know, and i think, as a family, we need to make our peace with that.

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

so the countess chester hospital nhs countess of chester hospital nhs foundation since lucy foundation have made significant changes to our . i want to provide our services. i want to provide reassurance every patient reassurance that every patient who services can have who access our services can have confidence in the care they will receive tony chambers, receive. if tony chambers, the former ceo, said as chief executive , my focus was on the executive, my focus was on the safety of the baby unit and the wellbeing of patients and staff . inclusive as i . i was open and inclusive as i responded to information and guidance . now joe biden's guidance. now joe biden's competency was thrust back into the spotlight last night as he was quizzed on the moscow plane crash of wagner chief prigozhin the doddery president emerged looking dazed from a gym session before telling reporters he didn't know anything about the . news >> mr president, do you ever reaction to the plane crash in russia ? the there's not much russia? the there's not much that happens in russia . that happens in russia. >>

so the countess chester hospital nhs countess of chester hospital nhs foundation since lucy foundation have made significant changes to our . i want to provide our services. i want to provide reassurance every patient reassurance that every patient who services can have who access our services can have confidence in the care they will receive tony chambers, receive. if tony chambers, the former ceo, said as chief executive , my focus was on the executive, my focus was on the safety of the baby unit and the wellbeing of patients and staff . inclusive as i . i was open and inclusive as i responded to information and guidance . now joe biden's guidance. now joe biden's competency was thrust back into the spotlight last night as he was quizzed on the moscow plane crash of wagner chief prigozhin the doddery president emerged looking dazed from a gym session before telling reporters he didn't know anything about the . news >> mr president, do you ever reaction to the plane crash in russia ? the there's not much russia? the there's not much that happens in russia . that happens in russia. >>

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

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

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

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

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

life for each of the murders of seven babies and the attempted murder of six more at the countess of chester hospitalod ofjust over 12 months. the 33—year—old former nurse refused to appear in court today, prompting the mother of two of her victims to describe it as a "final act of wickedness from a coward". the courtroom today was the scene of deep grief and trauma, as the families of her victims gave harrowing statements, telling of the horror and pain of losing their babies, some dying in their parent's arms. our correspondentjudith moritz has been in court throughout this trial and was there today. i have never felt i have neverfelt an i have never felt an atmosphere for quite like that inside boardroom at number seven here today. the moment of lucy letby�*s sentencing was historic but because she is only the fourth woman ever to be given a whole life tariff, but that wasn't the predominant feeling. rather that was a palpable sense of loss, deep sadness, and of anguish. she'll never be free again. so depraved, so wicked, lucy letby will be in prison forever. today, the courtroom reeled as the raw

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 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

been 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

the hospitals where she worked. the countess of chestere to stop letby sooner. yesterday, she was convicted of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six others. she'll be sentenced on monday . age uk says sentenced on monday. age uk says more than 700,000 households missed out on financial help for their energy bills . a support their energy bills. a support scheme was set up for people with non direct supply arrangements , such as those arrangements, such as those living in care homes , mobile living in care homes, mobile homes or on boats . the charity homes or on boats. the charity claims the fund completely flopped due to a complicated application process and a lack of publicity . a protest over the of publicity. a protest over the closure of railway ticket offices will be staged outside downing street later this month. the rmt union says it will stage a mass rally on the 31st of august, which is the last day of the consultation process. it warns the move to close up to 1000 offices will put more than 2000 jobs at risk

seven babies and trying to kill six more while she was working in the countess of chester hosphaps in the countess of chester hospital'sge handed down the whole life order at manchester crown court, making her only the fourth woman in uk history to be told she'll never be released from prison. let's get more now with our gb news northwest of england. reporter sophie reaper, who's been following this case from the beginning. there at manchester crown court with many other reporters . and i guess reporters. and i guess everyone's still trying to work out why she did this. clearly, the judge indicate that he could not answer that. now, there are the questions about the inquiry, whether that will be statutory or not. to find out what the health service, the hospital administrators knew or didn't know about what was going . on know about what was going. on >> well, i think in terms of the why of it all, i think that is the one gaping hole across this whole court case. and i think it's something that we realistically will never have an it's something that we answer to. the motive behind this was never discussed across answer

letby, a nurse at the neonatal unit at the countess of chester hospital, killed and attacked tiny babiesd. consultants on the unit had warned management about her involvement. there are no questions about the delays in moving her from clinical care and the time it took to call in the police. today, alison kelly, who was the director of nursing at the hospital at the time, was suspended from her current nhsjob. a public inquiry into letby�*s crimes has been announced. what form it will take, and its powers, has still to be decided. what's really important right now is to make sure we get the inquiry right, and we make sure that people, you know, the parents who faced these horrific crimes are getting the justice that they need, not only in the court with letby, but also from the inquiry as well. letby was driven to court from prison in wakefield for the last time today, arriving shortly before her hearing was due to begin. during letby�*s trial, the court was told that every time there was an unexpected death or a baby collapsed, letby had been there, in person. today, at sentencing, she

she worked at the countess of chester hospital and deliberately injected babies with here, a—speed others crimes will make personal impact statements in court. many are furious that she will not be there. speaking to the daily mail one father said it is a total injustice... her absence today is the latest in a series of high profile cases. thomas cashman refused to attend court when he was sentenced for killing nine—year old olivia pratt korbel. another mentor the same and he was sentenced for the murder of school teacher sabena nasa. lucy letby is likely to spend the rest of her life in jail. the government has ordered an independent enquiry to look at how she was able to kill so many babies without being stopped earlier. her refusal to face the families whose lives she has destroyed his lead to renewed calls to compel convicted criminals to attend court for sentencing hearings. graham satchell, bbc news. more than half the ballots have been counted in ecuador�*s presidential election — and left—wing candidate luisa gonzalez has won the first round lousia gonzalez won just over 33—percen