Latest news with #BBC1
Spectator
a day ago
- Spectator
The case for Letby's innocence looks weaker than ever
The annual Panorama documentary on Lucy Letby appeared on BBC 1 this week, barely a week after a more one-sided pro-Letby documentary was shown on ITV. Channel 4 has a Letby show in the works and Channel 5 has already broadcast two. Fortunately, there is plenty of material for producers to get their teeth into. Not only did her trial last ten months but there was a retrial after that, plus two appeal attempts, and her supporters have been making new claims on any almost weekly basis ever since. The ITV documentary was Letbyism 1.0, mostly consisting of talking points about shift patterns, Post-it notes, door-swipe data etc. that have either been debunked or which are now understood to be irrelevant. The Panorama documentary – the third in what is sure to be an ongoing series – focused on the second phase of Letbyism that began with two press conferences, the second organised by Letby's PR firm (yes, she has a PR firm working for her), in December 2024 and February 2025. In the first press conference we were told that the insulin tests used to convict her of poisoning Baby F and Baby L were wrong, and that Baby O was accidentally killed by a doctor. In the second press conference we were told that no murders had taken place, that the insulin readings for Babies F and L were perfectly normal, and that Baby O died from a liver injury sustained during childbirth. Confused? So are they. Letby has a number of distinguished medics in her corner but they seem to be finding it difficult to put forward a consistent narrative. A panel of experts convened by the Canadian neonatologist and economist Dr Shoo Lee has offered innocent explanations for all of the 22 collapses and deaths on Letby's indictment (including the ones for which she was not convicted, which seems over-eager). Thanks to the unexpected appearance of credible physicians on Team Letby, her supporters have been playing a game of 'my expert is bigger than your expert' ever since, but the Court of Appeal is not interested in how 'eminent' or 'world leading' a witness is. It only wants to know if they have a point, and it is far from obvious that the 'international panel', which contains no pathologists, radiologists, endocrinologists or haematologists, have cracked the case by looking at some medical records a decade after the events took place. Dr Michael Hall, a neonatologist who was ready to give evidence for the defence in Letby's first trial but was never called, gave short shrift to the panel's theory that Baby A died from thrombosis. He pointed out that this suggestion had been raised in court and said 'I'm not sure that the expert witnesses have added anything to that conversation.' Nor was there any evidence that Baby A's mother had passed a rare blood-clotting disorder onto the child. On the contrary, blood tests had disproved this. Hall was also dismissive of the idea that Baby O suffered a liver injury during childbirth. Baby O's mother had plenty of complaints to air about the Countess of Chester Hospital at the Thirlwall Inquiry, but the standard of her planned Caesarean section was not one of them. In any case, Baby O's haemoglobin readings strongly suggested that he had not suffered a liver injury at birth and even Letby admitted that whatever happened to his liver had happened 'on my watch' the following day. Speaking anonymously – presumably to avoid the wrath of Letby's increasingly militant fanbase – a pathologist told Panorama that the theory about Baby O being killed by a doctor's misplaced needle was poppycock. Indeed, everyone on the show seemed to agree that this never happened, despite Dr Richard Taylor stating it as fact on live television eight months ago. With regards to the insulin poisonings, Shoo Lee relied on the expertise of the mechanical engineer Dr Geoff Chase and the chemical engineer Dr Helen Shannon, possibly because he couldn't get any paediatric endocrinologists to come out to bat for Britain's most prolific child-murderer. In their report, they claimed that the incredibly high insulin readings and extremely low C-peptide readings for Baby F and Baby L were 'within the expected range for preterm infants'. Professor John Gregory, a paediatric endocrinologist, told Panorama that such readings were 'exceedingly unlikely' to be natural; in other words, the babies were almost certainly given exogenous insulin. Interviewed by Panorama, Dr Chase said that 'within the expected range' was a poor choice of words, but insisted that such results were 'not uncommon'. He then downgraded this to 'unusual' and 'possible'. The only British member of Lee's panel is Professor Neena Modi. Asked about the claim that Baby O had suffered a liver injury during childbirth, her response was essentially that although there wasn't any evidence that such an injury had been sustained in this instance, a traumatic childbirth is the kind of thing that could cause a liver injury. It was at this moment that the penny dropped: from the outside, Lee's panel do not seem to have been looking for the theory with the most evidence to support it, nor even for the most likely explanation. They appear to have been looking for anything that sounds vaguely plausible so long as it doesn't involve Lucy Letby inflicting deliberate harm on defenceless infants. Dr Hall, who seems genuinely unsure whether Letby is guilty or innocent, said that he feared that the tenuous opinions of the international panel could 'rebound' on her. As this Panorama showed, many of them can be batted away with ease since they were either raised and rejected in court or have no evidence to support them. Letby can go to the Criminal Cases Review Commission as many times as she likes, and is likely to have plenty of time to do so, but every application takes years and the Court of Appeal does not appreciate having its time wasted with lengthy submissions of little merit. The eminence of the experts and the hard work of the PR company do not come into it. Meanwhile, the public may see distinguished doctors disagreeing and conclude that there must be reasonable doubt by definition, but that is not how it works. Only one side can be right and the medical evidence, though important, was only one part of the case. Hundreds of pieces of evidence could be cited, almost all of it circumstantial but almost all of it pointing an accusing finger at staff nurse Letby. It will take many more documentaries for it all to be broadcast to the viewing public, but at the current rate we should get there by the end of the decade.
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Sturgeon on TV: Golden gal takes on brass neck. Who won?
But how would the golden gal of British broadcasting fare against the big brass neck of Scottish politics? Viewers turned to Nicola Sturgeon: the Interview to find out. 'The' interview suggested something special, but filming took place in Ayrshire ten days ago. Since then Ms Sturgeon has been all over the Murdoch press and every other branch of the media, her book picked cleaner than a turkey on Boxing Day. This, however, was the first broadcast interview, which meant the first chance to see Ms Sturgeon becoming 'emotional' as television folk coyly call it when someone cries on camera. Etchingham had dressed in cool neutrals for the occasion, with Sturgeon opting for a scarlet jacket. Perhaps she was trying to channel her inner Butlin's Redcoat to jolly things past the difficult stuff. It didn't work. Certainly there was no May-like confession to stealing from the pick n mix in Woolworths. She was rude about Nigel Farage ('odious'), but who isn't? Read More: When she did get into difficulty it was all her own doing, as when Etchingham brought up the rapist Isla Bryson. You might have thought it impossible for Sturgeon to make even more of a pig's ear out of this subject, but boy did she ever. Etchingham was looking at the former First Minister as if she was trying to argue that the Earth was flat. Personally, I turned the same shade as Sturgeon's jacket. Someone had to shoulder the embarrassment and it was not going to be our Nicola. There was some moistening around the eye area when she spoke of Alex Salmond's passing. She still misses him 'in some way' - a quote up there with Charles's 'whatever love means' - for half-baked sincerity. Julie Etchingham and Nicola Sturgeon discussed topics from independence to gender recognition reform (Image: ITV News) As for her new love life, her lips were sealed. 'I'm enjoying being my own person for a while,' she burbled, sounding for all the world like some Real Housewife of Montecito. Etchingham had a go at holding Sturgeon to account on domestic policy but nothing landed. She might as well have been on The One Show on BBC1, sandwiched between a soap star and an item on dodgy plumbers. The half hour running time and the 7pm slot told their own story. If there had been anything juicy the programme would have been on at 9pm, not just before Emmerdale. Upstaged by sheep. It shouldn't happen to a vet, or a former FM, but it did. The toe-curling was not quite over - there was still the matter of Nic's first tattoo. 'Midlife crisis alert,' she joked. You said it, dear. It was an infinity symbol she designed herself, something about strength and resilience and moving forward. In short, your basic woo-woo b******. Come to think of it, that would have been a better title for her book. Is it too late to change?
Times
3 days ago
- Times
Lucy Letby: Who to Believe? review — a rigorous look at the evidence
Ask anyone — in the pub, in the bus queue and definitely on social media — and you would be hard pushed to find a person who doesn't have a view on Lucy Letby. Those claiming 'certainty' fall into one of two camps: the one who believes she is an evil baby killer, or the one who believes she is an innocent victim of a huge miscarriage of justice. The other tribe is the one that doesn't feel qualified to judge either way having not sat in court every day, pored over the medical reports or ever worked in a premature baby unit. What is certain is that the voices proclaiming her innocence amid a swirl of claim and counterclaim are growing louder. Lucy Letby: Who to Believe? (BBC1) was an impressive, rigorous attempt to cut through the noise and the maze of information and take a calm, dispassionate look at the evidence. This is the third programme that the journalists Judith Moritz and Jonathan Coffey have made about Letby, as well as writing a book, and their proficiency showed when they were interviewing medical experts and Letby's new defence barrister Mark McDonald who, along with an international panel of experts, asserts that not only is there no evidence against Letby, there is no substantial evidence that any crimes took place. There are plausible, alternative explanations for the babies' deaths, they say.
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Sturgeon on TV: Golden gal takes on Little Miss Brass Neck. Who won?
Prime Ministers, presidents, princes, Hillary Clinton, Angelina Jolie - Julie has sat knee to knee with them all. But how would the golden gal of British broadcasting fare against the big brass neck of Scottish politics? Viewers turned to Nicola Sturgeon: the Interview to find out. 'The' interview suggested something special, but filming took place in Ayrshire ten days ago. Since then Ms Sturgeon has been all over the Murdoch press and every other branch of the media, her book picked cleaner than a turkey on Boxing Day. This, however, was the first broadcast interview, which meant the first chance to see Ms Sturgeon becoming 'emotional' as television folk coyly call it when someone cries on camera. Etchingham had dressed in cool neutrals for the occasion, with Sturgeon opting for a scarlet jacket. Perhaps she was trying to channel her inner Butlin's Redcoat to jolly things past the difficult stuff. It didn't work. Certainly there was no May-like confession to stealing from the pick n mix in Woolworths. She was rude about Nigel Farage ('odious'), but who isn't? When she did get into difficulty it was all her own doing, as when Etchingham brought up the rapist Isla Bryson. You might have thought it impossible for Sturgeon to make even more of a pig's ear out of this subject, but boy did she ever. Etchingham was looking at the former First Minister as if she was trying to argue that the Earth was flat. Personally, I turned the same shade as Sturgeon's jacket. Someone had to shoulder the embarrassment and it was not going to be our Nicola. There was some moistening around the eye area when she spoke of Alex Salmond's passing. She still misses him 'in some way' - a quote up there with Charles's 'whatever love means' - for half-baked sincerity. As for her new love life, her lips were sealed. 'I'm enjoying being my own person for a while,' she burbled, sounding for all the world like some Real Housewife of Montecito. Etchingham had a go at holding Sturgeon to account on domestic policy but nothing landed. She might as well have been on The One Show on BBC1, sandwiched between a soap star and an item on dodgy plumbers. The half hour running time and the 7pm slot told their own story. If there had been anything juicy the programme would have been on at 9pm, not just before Emmerdale. Upstaged by sheep. It shouldn't happen to a vet, or a former FM, but it did. The toe-curling was not quite over - there was still the matter of Nic's first tattoo. 'Midlife crisis alert,' she joked. You said it, dear. It was an infinity symbol she designed herself, something about strength and resilience and moving forward. In short, your basic woo-woo b******. Come to think of it, that would have been a better title for her book. Is it too late to change?
The Sun
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Two huge ex-Neighbours stars in talks for Strictly Come Dancing as they could join Stefan Dennis on the show
NEIGHBOURS stars Delta Goodrem and Natalie Imbruglia are both in talks to join this year's Strictly Come Dancing. The actresses could both end up in the dance contest alongside Stefan Dennis, who also starred on the Aussie soap. 4 4 4 Natalie, 50, and Delta, 40, are in negotiations with Strictly execs who want to announce the line-up for the BBC1 show over the coming week. A TV insider said: 'Talks are at a point where things could go in a number of different directions but if both celebrities signed up then that would be seen as quite a coup for the show. 'Delta and Natalie would bring some glamour to the programme, and be some of this year's most eagerly anticipated competitors. 'If all three former Neighbours stars end up performing, the Strictly dance floor will end up looking more like Ramsay Street. 'But the next 24 hours of discussions between execs and the stars' reps are critical.' Delta made her name on Neighbours, playing Nina Tucker from 2002 to 2004, with a break when she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. She enjoyed a global hit with the track, Born to Try. Delta was previously engaged to Westlife's Brian McFadden and two months ago married musician Matthew Copley. Meanwhile, Natalie started as Beth Brennan on the soap in 1992 when she was just 16. Her character had a long-standing relationship with Brad Willis, which ended in the pair getting married. Natalie left after five years and went on to release best-selling track Torn in 1997. The mum-of-one, now a British citizen, married singer Daniel Johns in 2003, divorcing five years later. Other stars in the running for Strictly this year include Dani Dyer, EastEnder Balvinder Sopal, Geordie Shore's Vicky Pattison and rugby star Chris Robshaw.
