Lucy Letby lawyer claims killer nurse learned of new charges in jail 'gossip'
Lucy Letby discovered she had yet more charges over the deaths of babies in hospital from prison 'gossip' instead of police, her lawyer complained.
Letby's barrister Mark McDonald said cops failed to inform his team of the charges and did not 'have the courtesy' to tell them it was handing a new file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
It is understood to concern new baby deaths and non-fatal collapses at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women's Hospital when Letby worked there between 2012 and 2016. He said she was forced to find out through "gossip". He told The Telegraph: 'One could be cynical and say that the police are afraid of what will happen when Lucy's conviction is overturned.'
'We will cross every bridge when we get to it, but if Lucy is charged I know we have a whole army of internationally renowned medical experts who will totally undermine the prosecution's unfounded allegations.'
The 35-year-old from Herefordshire was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill seven more whilst she worked as a nurse at the Countess of Chester in 2015 and 2016. She is currently serving 15 whole-life orders and is Britain's most prolific child killer. She is serving her sentences behind bars at Low Newton, a Durham prison.
The CPS said had received "a full file of evidence from Cheshire Constabulary" asking the force to consider further allegations against the woman dubbed 'The Angel of Death'.
It said these were "in relation to deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women's Hospital". It comes after three of Letby's bosses were arrested on Tuesday, in a turn of events that cast doubt over Letby's future. The ex members of the senior leadership team at a hospital where Letby worked were arrested in connection with alleged manslaughter.
The three were in leadership roles at the Countess of Chester Hospital in 20015 and 2016 but have not been named. They were arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
However, Letby's lawyer McDonald told the Telegraph that the police didn't tell Letby's legal team about the new file. In a statement, a spokesman for the CPS said: "We will now carefully consider the evidence to determine whether any further criminal charges should be brought.
"As always, we will make that decision independently, based on the evidence and in line with our legal test."
A spokeswoman for Cheshire Police confirmed the force had submitted "a full file of evidence to the CPS for charging advice regarding the ongoing investigation". Investigators are looking into the deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the neo-natal units of both hospitals as part of Operation Hummingbird.
This process to determine whether Letby will face further charges is expected to take several week s and involve consultation with many of Britain's most senior legal brains.
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