Channel 5 documentary to ask whether Lucy Letby was a scapegoat for systemic hospital failures

From the Newshound archive · first published 19 September 2026 · last updated 20 September 2026.

A Channel 5 documentary airing Monday night will subject the prosecution's case against Lucy Letby to fresh examination, with a medical expert who disputes central aspects of the expert evidence on which her conviction rested. Letby, 36, who holds 15 whole-life orders having been convicted of killing seven babies and attempting to kill seven more at the Countess of Chester Hospital, has consistently denied the verdicts. Made in partnership with The Sun, the film also gives voice to an anonymous whistleblower and raises the question of whether systemic failures at the hospital were mistaken for deliberate murder.

The Thirlwall Inquiry, published this week after two years and £18 million, drew fierce criticism for ignoring growing expert challenges to the conviction.

Peter Hitchens condemned the ruling class's refusal to acknowledge doubts, noting the chief constable of the arresting force had reportedly 'retired early' after senior Crown Prosecutors twice refused further charges.