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Lady Justice Thirlwall’s report from an inquiry into Lucy Letby is set to be published in Liverpool on Tuesday morning.
Letby, 36, is serving 15 whole-life orders after she was convicted at Manchester Crown Court of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others, including one she tried to kill twice.
The Thirlwall Inquiry examined events at the Countess of Chester Hospital that led to the former neonatal nurse’s convictions for the crimes between June 2015 and June 2016.
The report is being published after months of hearings, almost a year later than originally anticipated.
Inquests into the deaths of six babies who Letby was convicted of murdering have since been delayed until May next year after it was announced Lady Thirlwall’s report would not be published until September.
The former nurse has twice been denied permission to appeal against her convictions in 2024, although the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which examines potential miscarriages of justice, is considering evidence presented on her behalf by an international panel of medics.
What is a whole life order – and why is Letby serving 15?
Lucy Letby was sentenced to 14 whole life orders after she was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others.
She was then handed a 15th whole life order after she was found guilty of trying to kill a premature baby girl after a retrial.
A whole life order is the most severe prison term that can be given, and means she will never be considered for release unless there are exceptional compassionate grounds to warrant it.
Nicole Wootton-Cane15 September 2026 09:10
When will the Thirlwall Inquiry report be published?
The Thirlwall Inquiry is due to be published at 12:30pm on Tuesday.
It will examine how Letby was able to repeatedly kill and harm babies on a hospital neonatal unit in Chester between June 2015 and June 2016.
Nicole Wootton-Cane15 September 2026 08:50
Watch: Lucy Letby: Who is she and why was she convicted of murder?
Nicole Wootton-Cane15 September 2026 08:30
‘Inquiry has operated on wrong premise if Letby is innocent’, says defence lawyer
Lucy Letby’s defence lawyer has said that the public inquiry being published today has been operating “on the wrong premise” if she is innocent.
Mark McDonald submitted nearly 30 expert reports to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which he told BBC “undermine the whole safety of the convictions”.
The chairwoman of the CCRC has told the broadcaster that the organisation would be paying close attention to the report.
Letby has already been denied permission to appeal against her convictions on two occasions.
“If she is innocent, as I believe, as 30-odd experts believe, then everything that has gone before the inquiry and every recommendation has operated on the wrong premise,” Mr McDonald said.
Harriette Boucher15 September 2026 08:07
Experts quit Letby’s defence team over ‘scientific credibility’ concerns
Two experts on Lucy Letby’s defence team have quit after claiming there were concerns about the “scientific credibility” of some of the evidence.
Professor Geoff Chase, from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, and chemical engineer Helen Shannon, withdrew on Monday.
The experts had previously produced a 100-page report last year casting doubt on her convictions for poisoning two babies with insulin.
They said they still maintained it was “very unlikely” that two babies were poisoned, but felt some of the arguments being put forward on her behalf were “inconsistent with the available evidence, science and established physiology”.
Letby’s defence law Mark McDonald told Newsnight he was “sad that they’ve gone” but insisted those experts still believed “Lucy Letby is innocent”.
Harriette Boucher15 September 2026 07:49
Doctor accused of being Lucy Letby ‘crush’ named for first time
Doctor accused of being Lucy Letby ‘crush’ named for first time
Consultant paediatrician Dr Mark Deakin, who died in July, was granted lifelong anonymity ahead of giving evidence in Letby’s trialHarriette Boucher15 September 2026 07:43
What is the Thirlwall Inquiry?
The Thirlwall Inquiry was launched in 2023 following Lucy Letby’s multiple convictions for murder and attempted murder of infants.
It was set up to examine events at the Countess of Chester Hospital and their implications following the trial, and subsequent convictions, of former neonatal nurse Lucy Letby of murder and attempted murder of babies at the hospital.
The inquiry was not looking at whether Letby was guilty, but how concerns about the nurse from other staff were handled and whether her actions could have been prevented.
One of the country’s most senior judges, Lady Justice Thirlwall, heard evidence at Liverpool Town Hall from numerous witnesses between September 2024 and February 2025, including from the parents of Letby’s victims.
Harriette Boucher15 September 2026 07:36
Lucy Letby public inquiry findings to be published
The findings from a public inquiry into how Lucy Letby was able to murder and harm babies is set to be published on Tuesday morning.
The Thirlwall Inquiry is due to look at what happened at Countess of Chester Hospital that led to the former neonatal nurse’s convictions for the crimes between June 2015 and June 2016.
Its key objectives were to seek answers for the victims’ families and ensure lessons are learned – some 25 years after another nurse, Beverley Allitt, committed similar crimes on a children’s ward in Grantham, Lincolnshire.
Harriette Boucher15 September 2026 07:32