Lucy Letby whistleblower Dr Stephen Brearey admits he was naive to trust hospital managers over baby murders

Dr Stephen Brearey, who served as the senior neonatal consultant at the Countess of Chester Hospital, has admitted he was naive to trust hospital managers to act on his repeated warnings about Lucy Letby, and accepts that police should have been alerted sooner. Speaking publicly for the first time since the Thirlwall Inquiry report, Brearey told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that managers dismissed consultants' concerns while babies were being murdered. The hospital carried out internal reviews in 2015 and 2016 but did not contact Cheshire Police until May 2017, almost two years into Letby's killing spree.

Brearey said seven consultants had stood together in raising the alarm — but conceded 'we would have gone to the police earlier' with hindsight.

The Thirlwall Inquiry identified a 'toxic negativity' within the NHS that left staff reluctant to speak out even after whistleblowing guidance had been strengthened.

Brearey said staff received no psychological support following Letby's arrest, likening their trauma to soldiers with PTSD 'sent back into battle'.