Serial killer Lucy Letby will not be charged with any more crimes, prosecutors announced today.
Detectives have not provided enough evidence to show the former neo-natal nurse murdered or harmed any more babies, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
It means the 36-year-old will not face any new allegations and will escape another trial.
The news will come as a blow to the families of infants involved in the Cheshire police investigation, who believe their children were harmed by Letby while under her care.
But it will also be welcomed by Letby’s new defence team and campaigners, who are convinced she has been the victim of a miscarriage of justice and should be freed.
Letby is currently serving 15 whole life terms for the murder of seven babies and attempted murder of seven more – one of whom she attacked twice – at the Countess of Chester Hospital, between June 2015 and June 2016.
She injected air into their bloodstreams, or into their tummies via their nasal feeding tubes, overfed them milk, poisoned them with insulin and tampered with their breathing tubes in a bid to kill.
Following her convictions, over two separate trials at Manchester Crown Court, in 2023 and 2024, detectives pledged to continue investigating the ‘footprint’ of her four-year nursing career.
Lucy Letby, 36, will not face further prosecution, the CPS announced today
Lucy Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven more over two trials but has always maintained her innocence
They have examined the medical records of around 4,000 babies Letby nursed at the Countess and Liverpool Women’s Hospital, where she trained, and, in July, passed a file of evidence to prosecutors claiming she murdered and harmed more patients.
Prosecutors today said they had considered 11 new charges relating to nine babies – two of whom died. The charges included eight offences of attempted murder and one offence of murder at the Countess of Chester Hospital, plus one offence of attempted murder and another of murder, relating to a single infant, at Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
However, they added that, ‘following a thorough review,’ the evidence was not strong enough for a ‘realistic prospect’ of conviction by a jury.
Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS’s Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: ‘We received a file of evidence from Cheshire Constabulary in July 2025 asking us to consider further allegations against Lucy Letby, 36, relating to deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
‘Following a thorough review of that evidence, we have decided that no criminal charges should be brought in respect of those further allegations.
‘The Crown Prosecution Service considered offences of murder and attempted murder in respect of two infants who died and attempted murder in respect of seven infants who survived.
‘We concluded that the evidential test was not met in any of those cases.
‘As always, this decision was made independently, based on the evidence and in line with our legal test.
‘The CPS has written to the families involved and will offer meetings to explain our decision-making in further detail. Our thoughts remain with them.’
In a strongly-worded statement, a spokesman for Cheshire Police said they disagreed with the CPS’s decision, which was ‘not the outcome we had anticipated.’
‘We were confident that we held enough evidence to take to the CPS,’ the spokesman said.
‘We submitted files for charging decisions in relation to nine babies – for consideration of nine offences of attempted murder and two of murder.
‘We believed the evidence submitted met the CPS charging standard. The CPS did not agree and despite our representations we must respect the decision that has been made.’
The spokesman added that, while ‘there will be some who will feel that this is news worth celebrating,’ Cheshire Constabulary did not ‘share this view.’
He added: ‘(We) would ask that people respect the privacy and feelings of the families involved.
‘We are deeply grateful to the experts and witnesses who have contributed to this investigation. Their input has been invaluable in answering many difficult questions on behalf of the families. Our thoughts remain with the families affected.’
Dr Dewi Evans, the former lead prosecution witness at Letby’s original trial, previously told the Mail he had concerns over the deaths of at least three children and the collapses of as many as 15 more, including another baby boy potentially poisoned with insulin and others whose breathing tubes were tampered with.
It is understood that the bulk of the new allegations related to displacement of breathing tubes, but Dr Evans said: ‘Babies can pull out breathing tubes on their own, so this would be very difficult to prove.’
A source told the Mail that the ‘noise’ surrounding the safety of Letby’s original convictions ‘no doubt’ played into the CPS’s decision, which is likely to have been taken at the highest level.
They said: ‘The view now is that Letby is untriable because any new prosecution would just be a complete circus.
‘The Crown would have to apply to put her convictions before any new jury and no doubt Letby, via her defence team, would object and seek to call evidence to show why they should not do so.
The Women and Children’s building, which houses the neo-natal unit, where Letby committed her crimes
‘It would turn the trial into a circus before it had even begun, that would play right into her hands.
‘While its sad and frustrating for the new families who want justice for their children, Letby is in prison for the rest of her life, it would be a huge risk for the CPS to put her before a jury again.’
It is understood that several families are planning to appeal the CPS’ decision. All victims of crime have an automatic ‘right to review,’ which involves a second senior CPS lawyer evaluating the evidence when victims object to the decision not to pursue a prosecution.
Today’s announcement also does not preclude parents from taking civil action against the NHS if they believe their children have been harmed, as the threshold for seeking damages in the civil courts is lower than in criminal cases.
One mother whose son’s care was investigated by detectives said she was ‘absolutely devastated’ that they would not be getting justice.
‘We suspect Letby did something to him but the police said the evidence doesn’t meet the threshold for prosecution,’ she said. ‘It’s heartbreaking, we are absolutely devastated he won’t get justice.’
Lucy Letby being interviewed by detectives. She has always denied harming any children in her care
Canadian neonatologist Dr Shoo Lee, who, in February 2025, presented reports from a panel of 14 international experts, claiming no murders took place and instead babies collapsed or died because of natural causes or poor care
Letby, formerly of Hereford, has always maintained her innocence but two applications for leave to appeal her convictions have already been refused by the Court of Appeal.
In February last year her new legal team presented reports from a panel of 14 international experts which, they say, casts doubt on the jury’s guilty verdicts.
Led by Canadian neonatologist, Dr Shoo Lee, the panel said no murders took place at the Countess and instead babies collapsed or died because of natural causes or poor care.
In April, their findings, plus that of another 12 experts, were submitted to the Criminal Cases Review Commission, the body that investigates potential miscarriages of justice. It subsequently confirmed it is examining whether her case should be sent to the Court of Appeal for a third time.
Following today’s announcement, her barrister, Mark McDonald, said: ‘Lucy Letby has always maintained her innocence – she has never hurt a child and never would. It is vital that the case is now referred back to the Court of Appeal as a matter of urgency.
‘Thirty-one reports have been submitted to the CCRC, compiled by 26 internationally renowned experts, which provide overwhelming evidence that no babies were murdered. The reality is that a young innocent woman is in prison for crimes she has not committed.’
Cheshire Police insisted that today’s announcement ‘does not undermine’ the validity of Letby’s original convictions or have any impact on Operation Duet – their ongoing investigation into corporate manslaughter at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
In June, three former bosses were arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter as part of that inquiry.
The unnamed managers were quizzed at separate police stations in Cheshire for several hours, before being bailed pending further enquiries.
According to an independent report, leaked to the Mail’s Trial+ podcast, in March, babies’ lives could have been saved if hospital bosses had acted sooner to remove Letby from working.
The report, commissioned by the Countess after Letby was first arrested, in July 2018, found managers were ‘inexperienced’ and missed 14 opportunities to suspend the nurse because they became ‘blinkered’ to the possibility she was responsible.
Although the report did not specifically reveal which babies might have lived, it makes clear that, by February 2016, at least two senior executives at the hospital knew about the link between Letby and the infant deaths.
She tried to kill four children and murdered two triplet brothers, before being removed from frontline nursing in July that year.
‘Earlier action potentially would have reduced the number of baby deaths,’ the report said.
‘Had different decisions been made the spike in baby deaths would have been picked up sooner internally and externally, and potentially, lives could have been saved.’
The Mail understands that prosecutors have not yet been asked to offer any charging advice in connection with Operation Duet.
The parents of Letby’s victims also remain ‘utterly convinced’ of her guilt.
In their closing statements to The Thirlwall Inquiry, the public inquiry investigating how she was able to kill for so long in an NHS hospital, the families said: ‘(We) know the truth about what really happened.
‘Letby murdered and attempted to murder babies. The (press) conference and messages that Letby’s team are broadcasting, far from bringing comfort and assurance, cause distress. The message is conveyed in a way that shows no respect towards how families might be affected by it.’
Their lawyers also debunked much of the evidence presented by the medical panel, saying it was flawed, nothing new and simply a re-hash of evidence already ventilated before the jury.
Richard Baker KC said by assessing the medical evidence alone the panel risked ignoring the ‘bigger picture’ of circumstantial evidence, such as the hoard of confidential handover sheets found at Letby’s home, her ‘confession’ notes, the searches she performed on Facebook for the babies’ parents, the doctoring of medical notes and gas lighting of colleagues that led to the guilty verdicts.
