Families of six babies lose bid to challenge Lucy Letby ruling

The families of babies said to have been harmed by Lucy Letby have failed to overturn a decision not to bring new charges against the former nurse.

In January the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) declined to charge the convicted serial killer with further counts of murder and attempted murder relating to nine babies – including two who died – saying the evidential test “was not met”.

After that decision, the families of six of the nine babies involved challenged the decision via the Victims’ Right to Review scheme.

The CPS confirmed that despite an “extensive” review involving an independent prosecutor, the original decision had been upheld.

Letby, now 36, was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill seven others – including attacking one on two occasions – at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016.

After she was sentenced to 15 whole life terms in 2024, Cheshire Police announced it was examining earlier non-fatal collapses and deaths of babies in Chester and also at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, where Letby had trained, going back to 2012.