CPS admits errors in Lucy Letby trial related to evidence from ‘door evidence’

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The prosecution acknowledged that evidence was presented at Lucy Letby's trial about which staff entered and left the infant ward.

Letby is serving 15 life sentences for seven murders and seven attempted murders of babies in her care at the Countess of Chester Hospital between 2015 and 2016.

A life sentence means Letby will spend the rest of her life in prison, with no minimum term or chance of early release.

Letby was initially serving 14 life sentences imposed last year for seven murders and seven attempted murders.

A retrial was ordered for the attempted murder of a little girl, known as Child K, after the first jury was unable to reach a verdict.

A second jury took only three and a half hours to find Letby guilty of the crime.

During the retrial, it was revealed that Letby had deliberately attacked the baby after it had been moved from the delivery room to the neonatal unit shortly after its premature birth.

Prosecutor Nick Johnson KC told the court that door card data showing which nurses and doctors entered and left the intensive care unit had been “mislabelled”.

The public prosecutor confirmed The Telegraph that a discrepancy was identified regarding a door in the NICU and was corrected for re-inspection.

A spokesman for Mersey-Cheshire Crown Prosecution Service said: “The Crown Prosecution Service can confirm that accurate data on door swipe cards was provided at the retrial.”

In the first trial, the prosecution said that specialist Dr. Ravi Jayaram discovered Letby standing over Baby K at 3:50 a.m. on February 17, 2016. The baby's condition had worsened and his breathing tube had become loose.

Prosecutors said door scan data showed the nurse in charge of the baby left the intensive care unit at 3:47 a.m. But at retrial, the data was changed to show the nurse had returned by that time, meaning Letby was not alone.

This came after former Cabinet Minister Sir David Davis said The Independent He was to lead an investigation that questioned Letby's conviction after a number of experts expressed doubts about her guilt.

Sir David said he hoped to visit Letby in prison as part of the investigation into whether the serial baby killer may have been the victim of a miscarriage of justice.

Several medical professionals have expressed doubts about Letby's conviction. In a podcast, statistician Peter Elston and retired pediatrician Michael McConville claimed that the medical evidence presented during her trial was insufficient.

Despite her conviction, Letby continues to maintain her innocence and told jurors during the trial that she was “not the kind of person who would kill babies.”

The Independent has contacted the CPS for comment.