Gross negligence manslaughter arrests following Lucy Letby baby deaths
Cheshire Constabulary said the suspects, who occupied senior positions at the Countess of Chester Hospital between 2015 and 2016, were arrested on Monday.
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All three have since been bailed pending further inquiries, the force added.
Lucy Letby is serving 15 whole-life orders. Photo: Cheshire Constabulary/PA.
Letby, 35, from Hereford, is serving 15 whole-life orders after she was convicted of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others, with two attempts on one of her victims, between June 2015 and June 2016.
Police said corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter probes are continuing.
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North Wales Chronicle
20 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Councils consider legal bids as ministers face Epping hotel ruling aftermath
Ministers are now bracing for further legal challenges from councils after Epping Forest District Council was granted a temporary injunction by the High Court on Tuesday. The ruling blocks asylum seekers from being housed at the Bell Hotel in the Essex town, and current residents must be removed by September 12. On Wednesday, some Conservative and Reform UK-led authorities said they were looking at their options to take similar action. Conservative-run Broxbourne Council in Hertfordshire has said it was taking legal advice 'as a matter of urgency', while Tory-run East Lindsey District Council in Lincolnshire said officers are investigating and 'will take appropriate action'. Reform UK-led councils, West Northamptonshire Council and Staffordshire County Council, also said the authorities would look at the options available after the High Court ruling. When Robert Jenrick was immigration minister he grew the number of illegal migrants living in free hotels to 56,000. He is no friend of Epping. — Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) August 20, 2025 Ian Cooper, leader of Staffordshire County Council, said: 'The control and protection of our country's borders is a national issue, but the impact of central government policy is felt in communities across Staffordshire.' It comes as Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has indicated that councils run by his party will consider their own legal challenges. However, a number of these councils do not have responsibility for planning permission, which may limit their ability to launch legal challenges. Epping Forest District Council had asked a judge to issue an interim injunction stopping migrants from being accommodated at the Bell Hotel after it had been at the centre of protests in recent weeks. The demonstrations came after an asylum seeker, who was staying there, was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. He denies the charge and is due to stand trial later this month. The Home Office had warned the judge that an injunction could 'interfere' with the department's legal obligations, and lawyers representing the hotel's owner argued it would set a 'precedent'. Reacting to the ruling on Wednesday, security minister Dan Jarvis told Times Radio: 'We're looking at a range of different contingency options following from a legal ruling that took place yesterday, and we'll look closely at what we're able to do.' Asked whether other migrant hotels have the proper planning permission, Mr Jarvis said: 'Well, we'll see over the next few days and weeks. 'Other local authorities will be considering whether they wish to act in the same way that Epping (Forest) District Council have. A STATEMENT FROM NIGEL FARAGE This is a victory for the parents and concerned residents of Epping. They do not want their young women being assaulted on the streets. This community stood up bravely, despite being slandered as far right, and have won. They represent the vast… — Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) August 19, 2025 'I think the important point to make is that nobody really thinks that hotels are a sustainable location to accommodate asylum seekers. 'That's precisely why the Government has made a commitment that, by the end of this Parliament, we would have phased out the use of them.' On Wednesday shadow home secretary Chris Philp also pressed ministers not to re-house the asylum seekers at the Bell Hotel into other hotels or flats 'sorely needed by young people'. In a letter to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Mr Philp wrote: 'Up and down the country people are furious about the number of illegal migrants being housed in hotels – which rose in the nine months following the election under Labour. Following the ruling in Epping and the ongoing migrant crisis I have written to Yvette Cooper calling for: 1. An emergency cabinet meeting (they had one for recognising Palestine recently) to bring forward plans for the immediate deportation of all illegal immigrants upon… — Chris Philp MP (@CPhilpOfficial) August 20, 2025 'People are also concerned that you are now moving people from hotels into apartments and other accommodation which is sorely needed by young people here who are struggling under this Labour Government.' The Conservative MP also called for an emergency Cabinet meeting to set up plans to deport migrants crossing the Channel on arrival. Meanwhile Mr Farage has called for peaceful protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers to put pressure on local authorities to take the same route as Epping Forest. Writing in The Telegraph, he said: 'Now the good people of Epping must inspire similar protests around Britain. 'Wherever people are concerned about the threat posed by young undocumented males living in local hotels and who are free to walk their streets, they should follow the example of the town in Essex. 'Let's hold peaceful protests outside the migrant hotels, and put pressure on local councils to go to court to try and get the illegal immigrants out; we now know that together we can win.' Our work with international partners is vital to stopping small boat crossings to the UK. A joint intelligence unit involving the @NCA_UK and French counterparts has helped dismantle at least 52 organised immigration crime gangs operating in France. — Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) August 17, 2025 The latest Home Office data showed there were 32,345 asylum seekers being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of March. This was down 15% from the end of December, when the total was 38,079, and 6% lower than the 34,530 at the same point a year earlier. New figures – published among the usual quarterly immigration data release – are expected on Thursday, showing numbers in hotels at the end of June. Figures for hotels published by the Home Office date back to December 2022 and showed numbers hit a peak at the end of September 2023 when there were 56,042 asylum seekers in hotels.
Rhyl Journal
20 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Councils consider legal bids as ministers face Epping hotel ruling aftermath
Ministers are now bracing for further legal challenges from councils after Epping Forest District Council was granted a temporary injunction by the High Court on Tuesday. The ruling blocks asylum seekers from being housed at the Bell Hotel in the Essex town, and current residents must be removed by September 12. On Wednesday, some Conservative and Reform UK-led authorities said they were looking at their options to take similar action. Conservative-run Broxbourne Council in Hertfordshire has said it was taking legal advice 'as a matter of urgency', while Tory-run East Lindsey District Council in Lincolnshire said officers are investigating and 'will take appropriate action'. Reform UK-led councils, West Northamptonshire Council and Staffordshire County Council, also said the authorities would look at the options available after the High Court ruling. When Robert Jenrick was immigration minister he grew the number of illegal migrants living in free hotels to 56,000. He is no friend of Epping. — Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) August 20, 2025 Ian Cooper, leader of Staffordshire County Council, said: 'The control and protection of our country's borders is a national issue, but the impact of central government policy is felt in communities across Staffordshire.' It comes as Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has indicated that councils run by his party will consider their own legal challenges. However, a number of these councils do not have responsibility for planning permission, which may limit their ability to launch legal challenges. Epping Forest District Council had asked a judge to issue an interim injunction stopping migrants from being accommodated at the Bell Hotel after it had been at the centre of protests in recent weeks. The demonstrations came after an asylum seeker, who was staying there, was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. He denies the charge and is due to stand trial later this month. The Home Office had warned the judge that an injunction could 'interfere' with the department's legal obligations, and lawyers representing the hotel's owner argued it would set a 'precedent'. Reacting to the ruling on Wednesday, security minister Dan Jarvis told Times Radio: 'We're looking at a range of different contingency options following from a legal ruling that took place yesterday, and we'll look closely at what we're able to do.' Asked whether other migrant hotels have the proper planning permission, Mr Jarvis said: 'Well, we'll see over the next few days and weeks. 'Other local authorities will be considering whether they wish to act in the same way that Epping (Forest) District Council have. A STATEMENT FROM NIGEL FARAGE This is a victory for the parents and concerned residents of Epping. They do not want their young women being assaulted on the streets. This community stood up bravely, despite being slandered as far right, and have won. They represent the vast… — Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) August 19, 2025 'I think the important point to make is that nobody really thinks that hotels are a sustainable location to accommodate asylum seekers. 'That's precisely why the Government has made a commitment that, by the end of this Parliament, we would have phased out the use of them.' On Wednesday shadow home secretary Chris Philp also pressed ministers not to re-house the asylum seekers at the Bell Hotel into other hotels or flats 'sorely needed by young people'. In a letter to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Mr Philp wrote: 'Up and down the country people are furious about the number of illegal migrants being housed in hotels – which rose in the nine months following the election under Labour. Following the ruling in Epping and the ongoing migrant crisis I have written to Yvette Cooper calling for: 1. 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'Wherever people are concerned about the threat posed by young undocumented males living in local hotels and who are free to walk their streets, they should follow the example of the town in Essex. 'Let's hold peaceful protests outside the migrant hotels, and put pressure on local councils to go to court to try and get the illegal immigrants out; we now know that together we can win.' Our work with international partners is vital to stopping small boat crossings to the UK. A joint intelligence unit involving the @NCA_UK and French counterparts has helped dismantle at least 52 organised immigration crime gangs operating in France. — Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) August 17, 2025 The latest Home Office data showed there were 32,345 asylum seekers being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of March. This was down 15% from the end of December, when the total was 38,079, and 6% lower than the 34,530 at the same point a year earlier. New figures – published among the usual quarterly immigration data release – are expected on Thursday, showing numbers in hotels at the end of June. Figures for hotels published by the Home Office date back to December 2022 and showed numbers hit a peak at the end of September 2023 when there were 56,042 asylum seekers in hotels.
The Independent
20 minutes ago
- The Independent
Vicar who led rave-style ‘cult' in Church of England found guilty of assaulting female followers
A former priest accused of leading a rave-style evangelical cult in the Church of England has been found guilty of sexually assaulting his female followers. A trial heard Christopher Brain, who led the progressive Nine O-Clock Service (NOS) in Sheffield in the 80s and 90s, surrounded himself with women who wore lingerie or revealing clothes as part of his 'homebase team' who kept his house 'spotlessly clean'. The court heard the women – sometimes referred to as 'the Lycra Lovelies' or 'the Lycra Nuns' – were on a rota to help then-Reverend Brain with his every need. Some gave him 'sensual' massages which he told the jury were to relieve tension headaches. He was charged with one count of rape and 36 counts of indecent assault relating to 13 women between 1981 and 1995. On Wednesday, jurors at Inner London Crown Court found him guilty of 17 counts of indecent assault against nine women. However he was acquitted of another 15 charges of indecent assault against two women. The jury is still deliberating the rape charge and four further counts of indecent assault. The six-week trial heard how Brain, 68, was praised by the Archbishop of Canterbury after his 'club culture' inspired services at St Thomas' Church in Crookes, Sheffield, and later Ponds Forge leisure centre, drew hundreds of young congregants. He was fast tracked for Holy Orders as the movement took off, but it collapsed in controversy in 1995 after women alleged their charismatic leader had been sexually assaulting them, in some cases claiming he was helping to heal their sexual repression. Prosecutor Tim Clark KC told the court he 'abused his position first as a leader and then as an ordained priest to sexually assault a staggering number of women'. When Brain was first confronted over claims he had abused up to 40 women, he replied: 'I thought it was more,' the court heard. Mr Clark said NOS became a cult in which members, who were vetted and organised into 'discipleship' groups, were isolated from their friends and families. 'Members of NOS became utterly dependent on NOS and desperate for the attention and praise of the defendant,' he added. 'They were encouraged to give up their time, finances and, eventually, their sense of self to this organisation and its leader.' One woman who first joined the church as a teenager said she viewed Brain as a 'form of prophet' who told her their contact was part of her 'sexual healing'. 'She found it impossible to leave, she made an effort one time but was talked out of it,' Mr Clark said. 'She describes becoming severely depressed. She stated that she engaged in the sexual activity, or more precisely submitted to it occurring, in order to survive.' Another woman said she 'viewed him as almost a God'. The prosecutor said Brain would suddenly appear in the lives of female members of NOS, often picking them up in his car whilst they were walking along. Women who did not keep the defendant happy would find themselves estranged from the group, he added. One female congregant, who believes she was 'brainwashed' by the priest, alleged he invited her to his home while his wife was away in 1983 or 1984, where he pinned her down and raped her. She told the jury she was moving her head 'from side to side' and 'saying no', adding: 'I couldn't get him off me.' Another woman said she had to be available to 'put him to bed'. On those occasions, he would undress and rub himself against her as she massaged him while wearing only her underwear, the court heard. Mr Clark said: 'She described going into a 'robotic' state doing this, she dreaded receiving his phone calls.' The jury was told Brain admitted to 'improper sexual conduct with a number of women' in the church in a bombshell 1995 BBC documentary, but denied this was abuse. He resigned from Holy Orders the same year. Giving evidence in his defence, Brain admitted he received back massages from women in the movement despite being married with a young child. Asked by his lawyer, Iain Simkins KC, 'what on earth possessed you to have a back massage from another woman', he responded: 'Why not?' He told the jury he suffered from 'terrible' tension headaches. He said people in the homebase team, formed to free up his time to take the religious movement on the road, were 'personal friends' and the massages were not part of their duties. He admitted to having sexual contact with up to six of his accusers, but insisted it was consensual. Some of the other alleged assaults simply did not happen, he claimed. He told the jury, 'I was the most radical ordained vicar there was' as he defended his actions, adding: 'I wasn't a traditional vicar, I was someone on a journey of radical research and experimentation.' He insisted NOS was a 'free, open, really caring, very fun environment' and as they started to develop their own theology around 1990, some members became interested in tantric celibacy. He added: "With some of my closest friends, it would be kissing sometimes, occasionally massaging, stroking. Anything more than that, we would back off.'
