The BBC has launched an urgent internal review after admitting serious errors in a Panorama documentary about Lucy Letby, the former nurse convicted of murdering seven babies. The i Paper has learned that the programme, titled Lucy Letby: Who To Believe?, had to be re-edited days after its broadcast on 11 August due to misleading statistics.
The errors related to data on dislodged breathing tubes in babies at Liverpool Women's Hospital, where Letby worked as a trainee nurse. The original programme claimed that tubes were dislodged 20 times during 50 shifts, a rate of 40 per cent, which co-presenter Jonathan Coffey described as 'pretty damning'. However, it later emerged that tubes were dislodged only four times across 11 shifts, a much smaller sample size.
It has also been revealed that Tim Davie, the BBC Director-General, was contacted directly by Letby's legal team before the broadcast, warning of 'questionable data' and impartiality issues. Despite this, the programme aired on BBC One without changes. Mark McDonald, Letby's barrister, said the errors could jeopardise the chance of a fair trial in any future hearings.
Dr Jane Hutton, a professor of statistics at the University of Warwick, said the BBC had confused 'working shifts' with 'ventilated shifts'. She explained that if Letby worked 50 shifts, that would equate to 500 ventilated shifts, making the dislodgement rate just 4 per cent, only slightly above normal. She called for a correction and apology. The BBC admitted an error but denied mixing up the shift types.
One BBC insider described the editorial failings as 'out of control', adding that the incident was 'hugely embarrassing' for the flagship programme. The controversy adds to pressure on Davie, who has faced criticism over the broadcaster's handling of the MasterChef affair and airing of 'antisemitic' chanting at Glastonbury.
