An ex-police officer involved in apprehending child serial killer nurse Beverley Allitt has expressed his belief in the innocence of Lucy Letby, who is currently serving 15 whole-life sentences for the deaths of seven babies and the attempted murders of seven others between 2015 and 2016. Retired Det Supt Stuart Clifton, leading a reevaluation of the case against Letby, stated that the nurse from Hereford may have been unjustly accused, labeling it as possibly the most significant miscarriage of justice in recent times.
In the previous year, a group of 14 prominent medical specialists contended that substandard medical care and natural causes, rather than deliberate harm, were responsible for the infants’ deaths. One of these experts, retired physician Dr. Shoo Lee, known for his work on air embolism in babies, highlighted that Letby had likely not committed any murders or attempted murders. Mr. Clifton’s review, a former detective superintendent from Lincolnshire Police, found no proof of intentional harm caused by Letby to the babies.
Speaking to The Sun, Mr. Clifton affirmed his conviction in Letby’s innocence, denouncing the trial evidence as flawed and asserting this to be a significant miscarriage of justice. He previously led the investigation into Allitt, also known as the Angel of Death, who was convicted in 1993 for multiple murders and attempted murders of infants and children.
Mr. Clifton emphasized the importance of starting with evidence rather than presumption in such cases, drawing parallels to the Allitt investigation. He refuted the notion of criminal acts at the neonatal unit in Chester Hospital and stressed the absence of conclusive evidence supporting the allegations against Letby.
Additionally, Mr. Clifton dismissed the significance of handwritten Post-it notes found at Letby’s residence, rejecting them as a form of confession. The recent decision by the CPS to not pursue further charges against Letby for additional incidents investigated by Cheshire Constabulary was also confirmed last week.
A forthcoming Netflix documentary titled Of Lucy Letby, produced in collaboration with Cheshire Police, will showcase exclusive footage of Letby’s arrest and interrogation. Scheduled to air next week, the documentary sheds light on the investigation surrounding the nurse’s case.
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