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

, 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

health correspondent outside the countess of chester hospital tonight. the conclusion of the trial today from people 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 organisatio

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

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

of babies at two hospitals where letby had worked. 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

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

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,

as baby deaths rose at the countess of chester hospital why didn't the trust act sooner? the role of the investigating officer when they didn't have the skills to do so and certainly didn't have the openness of mind to consider the unthinkable. and "heartbroken, angry and numb" — we hear from parents whose newborns died in letby 5 care. he had blood around his mouth. and lucy was there. it isjust beyond your imagination that somebody is on a ward killing babies, it is unbelievable. she is the most prolific killer of babies in modern british history. lucy letby — a nurse responsible for looking after the sickest of newborns. instead she set about killing them. betweenjune 2015 and june 2016 — she murdered seven babies and tried to kill six more. she deliberately injected some with air, force fed others with milk — and poisoned two of the infants with insulin. she was finally caught after a two—year investigation by cheshire police. stuart pollitt was in court for the verdict — he joins us now live from manchester crown court. thanks, yes, the trial has been going on here s

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

they will also be a statement from the countess of chester hospital. f these incidents took place between june of 2015 and june of 2016. they'll be putting out a statement later on today that we'll be bringing you. but just to summarise, we now know after ten months that lucy letby, the former nurse, has been found guilty of multiple counts of murder, seven counts of murder , murder, seven counts of murder, seven counts of attempted murder , and found not guilty of two counts of attempted murder. >> so this is the most extraordinary story, the most prolific child murderer in modern british history. it there must now be questions asked of how this was allowed to take place eight years ago. why it took so long for this individual took so long for this individual to be brought to justice, and where the feelings have been clearly taking place throughout the nhs, throughout perhaps social services , throughout the social services, throughout the entire british . state entire british. state >> absolutely , tom. and this is >> absolutely, tom. and this is some

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

of the hospital's response. again, there are comparisons with lucy letby. at the countess of chesterd 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, they did not respond for three months. injune, over two days, two more babies died. lucy letby was on shif

she worked here, in the neonatal unit at the countess of chester hospital. le — 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... ..w

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

government 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

they were being cared for at the neonatal unit of the countess of chester hospital. 0nly five days oldame 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, with a midwife, saying, "you need to get here n

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

countess of - tell us more about this? 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

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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

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,

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

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

the 33—year—old was also convicted of trying to kill six other infants at the countess of chester hospital letby did not appear in the dock at the beginning of her sentencing hearing at manchester crown court for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six others. we will try and bring you our correspondent outside court in the next few minutes. ijust correspondent outside court in the next few minutes. i just want to bring you a statement from the prime minister rishi sunak. he hasjust released a statement saying "it is cowardly that people who commit such horrendous crimes do not face their victims". the serial child murderer lucy letby refused to appear in court, prime minister rishi sunak saying it is cowardly that people who commit such horrendous crimes do not face their victims. let's go straight to manchester crown court. anna foster is there for us now. the proceedings — anna foster is there for us now. tue: proceedings here anna foster is there for us now. tte: proceedings here started 20 minutes ago. lucy letby was brought to manchester crown court from prison, bu

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 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

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

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

attempted murder she carried out while working as a nurse on the neonatal unit at the countess of chester hospitald over a period of months harrowing evidence from the parents of victims, we have heard about lucy letby�*s particularly cruel and calculating offending, the methods which are used to kill children in her care, sometimes by injecting them with air into their bloodstream, sometimes by poisoning them with insulin, sometimes by overfeeding them with milk. and the judge really talked today about the way that she had carried out a campaign of enormously cruel, criminal activity. campaign of enormously cruel, criminalactivity. he campaign of enormously cruel, criminal activity. he talked about the pain that each of those babies will have suffered at the moment of death or when they were having those sudden and inexplicable acute medical episodes. he talked about the pain that lucy letby had inflicted on those babies, the physical pain, but also the pain that she had inflicted on the families of those victims as well. and we heard very emotive, very harrowing victim impact statements delivere

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

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

look, the countess >> okay, now look, the countess of both sides the story as of both sides of the story as always on gb news. so the countess chester hospitale lucy letby our hospital, we letby worked at our hospital, we have to 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

look, the countess >> okay, now look, the countess of both sides the story as of both sides of the story as always on gb news. so the countess chester hospitale lucy letby our hospital, we letby worked at our hospital, we have to 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

will review why concerns raised about her were not taken seriously by management at the countess of chester hospitalonnection with the death. an international search is under way for sara's father, step—mother and uncle. hurricane hilary heads towards north—west mexico — later expected to track to california and nevada. it'll weaken to a tropical storm but still bringing the risk of devastating flash flooding and strong winds. the british government has ordered an independent inquiry into how a nurse came to murder seven newborn babies in her care and tried to kill another six. lucy letby was found guilty after a trial in manchester which lasted ten months. while lucy letby has been convicted of seven murders, the bbc has learned there were actually 13 deaths on the neonatal unit where she worked in a one year period. that's five times the usual rate, and lucy letby was on duty for all of them. an investigation by bbc news and bbc panorama has also revealed that doctors on the unit were raising concerns for months about letby