Inquests into the deaths of six babies murdered by former nurse Lucy Letby have been postponed until 2027, following delays in the publication of the Thirlwall Inquiry report. The infants died at the Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015 and 2016 while Letby was employed on the neonatal unit.
The full hearings, originally scheduled for September 2025, have been relisted to provisionally begin on 10 May 2027. The delay was confirmed after an announcement that Lady Justice Thirlwall's inquiry report will not be published until after the summer recess of Parliament, at the earliest.
A statement from the Thirlwall Inquiry website said: “The inquiry can now give a further update regarding publication of the final report. The report will be published at the earliest practical date. However, that will not be until after the summer recess of Parliament.”
At Cheshire Coroner’s Court on Wednesday, the suspensions of the inquests for Baby C, Baby D, Baby E, Baby I, Baby O and Baby P were formally continued. A court statement said: “The coroner considers it appropriate to maintain the suspension in order to ensure that the findings and recommendations of the Thirlwall Inquiry can be fully considered before the inquests proceed.” The matter will be reviewed again in November.
Letby, 36, from Hereford, is serving 15 whole-life orders after being convicted at Manchester Crown Court of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others between June 2015 and June 2016. She was twice denied permission to appeal in 2024. The Criminal Cases Review Commission is considering evidence presented on her behalf by an international panel of medics who argue that poor medical care and natural causes were responsible for the babies' collapses.
An earlier inquest into the death of Baby A, another victim, was held in October 2016 and returned a narrative conclusion that could not determine whether the death was due to natural or unnatural causes. Concerns raised by consultant paediatricians that Letby may have been deliberately harming babies were not mentioned at that inquest.
