Thirlwall inquiry findings on Lucy Letby hospital failures due Tuesday

September 13, 2026 at 04:15 AM2 min

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The Thirlwall Inquiry will publish its findings on Tuesday into how nurse Lucy Letby was able to murder and harm babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015-2016. The report will not review Letby's convictions, which the inquiry chair said were settled by the Court of Appeal. The Criminal Cases Review Commission will study the report for any bearing on its own review of Letby's case.

Key Facts

Lady Justice Thirlwall's inquiry examined how Lucy Letby was able to commit her crimes at the Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015-2016.
The inquiry's findings will be published on Tuesday, almost a year later than originally anticipated.
The inquiry did not review Letby's convictions, which Lady Justice Thirlwall said were settled by the Court of Appeal.
Dame Vera Baird, chairwoman of the Criminal Cases Review Commission, said the CCRC will assess whether the report has any bearing on its review of Letby's case.
Letby was sentenced to a whole-life prison term for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others.

Inquiry Scope

Lady Justice Thirlwall said she approached the inquiry on the basis that Lucy Letby is guilty of the crimes of which she has been convicted. She emphasised that it was not her role to review the convictions, telling the inquiry that the Court of Appeal had already done so with a very clear result. The inquiry's remit was to examine how Letby was able to murder and harm babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015-2016 and whether managers should have responded differently to suspicions about her.

Legal Review

The Criminal Cases Review Commission is the only organisation with the power to send Letby's case back to the Court of Appeal. Dame Vera Baird, the CCRC chairwoman, told the BBC that the commission will be looking at the Thirlwall report with interest to assess whether it has any bearing on its review of the case. The CCRC has given no indication of when it will make its decision. Letby's lawyers, Sir David Davis MP, and the hospital's former executives applied for the inquiry to be delayed until the CCRC has made its decision.