Lucy Letby insists she's innocent but 'won't resist' being struck off as nurse

12 December 2023 , 11:07

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Letby was the fourth woman to be handed a whole life order in the UK (Image: PA)

Evil child serial killer Lucy Letby does not oppose a bid to strike her from the nursing register but “maintains her innocence”.

The ex-nurse after being found guilty of murdering seven babies in her care at Manchester Crown Court while working as a neonatal nurse, and attempting to kill six others, at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit between 2015 and 2016. She became the fourth woman in Britain to be handed a whole-life order after she was convicted following a 10-month trial in August. At a hearing in east London this morning, Christopher Scott from the Nursing and Midwifery Council told a fitness to practice panel Letby faces 14 charges, brought by the council, which reflect her criminal convictions. 

Letby faces a re-trial for one count of attempted murder (Chester Chronicle)

A court sketch during Letby's trial (PA)

The panel was told Letby was asked in a "tick-box exercise" if she accepts the NMC charges. She ticked "yes" to each of the charges but added: "I do not wish to take part or be present at the hearing. I do not resist the application to strike me off the nursing register. I accept the fact of the convictions. However I do not accept that I am guilty of any of the allegations. I maintain my innocence in respect of all of the convictions. These convictions are now the subject of an appeal."

Mr Scott will ask the panel to strike Letby off. Letby, of Hereford, was told of the hearing but did not attend and was not represented. The panel decided to proceed in her absence.

The serial killer faces a re-trial for one count of attempted murder of a newborn baby girl next June, with an estimated length of two to three weeks. She has also applied to appeal all of her existing convictions. While it has not been confirmed where Letby is locked up, it has been reported that she was recently moved from the notorious HMP Low Newton in Durham to the privately run HMP Bronzefield in Surrey.

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In September, the Crown Prosecution Service issued a statement saying it was "extremely complex and difficult" deciding whether to seek retrials for Letby. Jonathan Storer, Chief Crown Prosecutor, CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said: "These decisions on whether to seek retrials on the remaining counts of attempted murder were extremely complex and difficult. Before reaching our conclusions we listened carefully to the views of the families affected, police and prosecution counsel.

"Many competing factors were considered including the evidence heard by the court during the long trial and its impact on our legal test for proceeding with a prosecution. We have met with all the families affected by these decisions to explain how they were reached."

Antony Clements-Thrower