Letby witness: I changed mind on baby death

Crime

Letby witness: I changed mind on baby death

Doctor says Baby C was not killed by injection of air into stomach, but insists jailed nurse did murder him

Sarah KnaptonScience Editor

A KEY medical witness in the Lucy Letby trial has said he has changed his mind about how one of the babies was killed.

Dr Dewi Evans said he had amended his opinion about the death of Baby C, who the prosecution claimed was murdered with an injection of air into his stomach. Baby C was one of seven babies whom Letby was convicted of killing at the Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015.

During the trial, Dr Evans said he thought a bubble of air had caused the baby boy’s stomach to balloon, “splintering his diaphragm” and crushing his lungs so that he could no longer breathe. He was initially suspicious about the death because an X-ray showed the baby had an unusual amount of air in his stomach, which could have been caused by the deliberate pumping of air into his feeding tube.

However a BBC File on 4 investigation, broadcast yesterday, found that Letby was not working at the hospital when the X-ray was taken.

Dr Evans told The Telegraph he no longer believed air injected into the stomach was the cause of the death.

“The stomach bubble was not responsible for his death,” he said. “Probably destabilised him though. His demise occurred the following day, around midnight, and due to air in the bloodstream.

‘Baby C was always the most difficult from a clinical point of view. So I understand the confusion’

“Letby was there. I amended my opinion after hearing the evidence from the local nurses and doctors. Baby C was always the most difficult from a clinical point of view. So I understand the confusion.”

Dr Evans has not changed his view that Letby was responsible for the death of Baby C, only how she murdered the infant. His comments come amid ongoing concern about how the evidence in the case against Letby was presented to the jury.

At Letby’s trial, Nicholas Johnson KC, prosecuting, said that Baby C had been killed “by air inserted into his stomach via the nasogastric tube, not into his bloodstream”.

In an interview for File on 4, Dr Evans said the “biggest concern was that the X-ray showed a huge great bubble in the stomach and far more gas than I would expect”. However, it was then revealed the X-ray had been taken on June 12, 2015, when Letby was not working, and she had not been in the hospital for two days. Baby C collapsed and died two days later, when Letby was working the night shift. The prosecution suggested the baby had been killed by another injection of air into his stomach. During the trial, Ben Myers KC, defending, said she had not been on shift when the X-ray was taken. But in summing up, Mr Justice Goss did not remind the jury Letby had not been present on that date. He said the radiologists’ evidence showed the baby’s stomach “was full of gas”, which could have been the result of deliberate administration of air. Letby is intending to apply to the Criminal Cases Review Commission to have the case reopened.

Speaking about the new suggestion that Baby C was actually killed by air in his bloodstream, Mark McDonald, her new barrister, said: “It’s remarkable that out of nowhere we have got this new hypothesis. This was never there beforehand, it just came out of thin blue air ... There is no evidence of anyone seeing it happen, no evidence from a diagnostic perspective and no evidence in relation to what line the air is supposed to have gone through.

“We now have expert evidence to say in fact this baby was very poorly as the result of a bowel obstruction and needed specialist attention which it did not receive, and likely surgery to save its life, but this did not happen.”

File on 4 also asked five senior clinicians to review Baby C’s medical notes that were made available during the trial, and all thought the child should have been in a higher level unit.

Prof Colin Morely, a retired professor of neonatology from the University of Cambridge, told the BBC he believed Baby C had died from natural causes.

Letby was convicted of the murders of seven infants and the attempted murders of seven others and is serving 15 whole-life terms in prison.

However, since the verdicts many scientists, statisticians and clinicians have come forward to challenge the evidence that was presented to the jury.

James Phillips, a former government science adviser for Boris Johnson, who has criticised the trial, said: “Pivotal evidence for one of the Lucy Letby murder convictions is deeply flawed, as she appears to have never met the baby at the time it was obtained.”

Khan takes £100k in gifts and tickets

Neil Johnston

Amy Gibbons

Ben Butcher

SADIQ KHAN has received more than £100,000 in gifts and hospitality since taking office, including tickets to see Madonna and Bruce Springsteen and seats at three Champions League football finals.

The Mayor of London also enjoyed free access to Abba Voyage and the Vogue World fashion show, cricket, boxing, tennis and thousands of pounds’ worth of free travel and accommodation.

Amid the growing scandal over “freebies” given to senior Labour figures, analysis by The Telegraph found Mr Khan has received nearly £110,000 in gifts and hospitality since he was first elected in 2016. His team of deputy mayors and commissioners have received another £250,000 in gifts. Among recent gifts were six tickets for Taylor Swift at Wembley in August, paid for by the FA, which were worth £194 each.

Mr Khan also received a free ticket to the Champions League final in June from Uefa worth £1,000, which was listed as part of an official engagement as the host city.

The mayor, a Liverpool FC fan, was given two tickets to the Carabao Cup Final worth £800 in February when he watched his side beat Chelsea 1-0 at Wembley. He has received over £4,000 worth of tickets for Liverpool games since 2017.

A spokesman for the Mayor said: “Any gift accepted by the Mayor is declared openly and transparently and is subject to strict rules.”

Crime

Letby witness: I changed mind on baby death

Doctor says Baby C was not killed by injection of air into stomach, but insists jailed nurse did murder him

Sarah KnaptonScience Editor

A KEY medical witness in the Lucy Letby trial has said he has changed his mind about how one of the babies was killed.

Dr Dewi Evans said he had amended his opinion about the death of Baby C, who the prosecution claimed was murdered with an injection of air into his stomach. Baby C was one of seven babies whom Letby was convicted of killing at the Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015.

During the trial, Dr Evans said he thought a bubble of air had caused the baby boy’s stomach to balloon, “splintering his diaphragm” and crushing his lungs so that he could no longer breathe. He was initially suspicious about the death because an X-ray showed the baby had an unusual amount of air in his stomach, which could have been caused by the deliberate pumping of air into his feeding tube.

However a BBC File on 4 investigation, broadcast yesterday, found that Letby was not working at the hospital when the X-ray was taken.

Dr Evans told The Telegraph he no longer believed air injected into the stomach was the cause of the death.

“The stomach bubble was not responsible for his death,” he said. “Probably destabilised him though. His demise occurred the following day, around midnight, and due to air in the bloodstream.

‘Baby C was always the most difficult from a clinical point of view. So I understand the confusion’

“Letby was there. I amended my opinion after hearing the evidence from the local nurses and doctors. Baby C was always the most difficult from a clinical point of view. So I understand the confusion.”

Dr Evans has not changed his view that Letby was responsible for the death of Baby C, only how she murdered the infant. His comments come amid ongoing concern about how the evidence in the case against Letby was presented to the jury.

At Letby’s trial, Nicholas Johnson KC, prosecuting, said that Baby C had been killed “by air inserted into his stomach via the nasogastric tube, not into his bloodstream”.

In an interview for File on 4, Dr Evans said the “biggest concern was that the X-ray showed a huge great bubble in the stomach and far more gas than I would expect”. However, it was then revealed the X-ray had been taken on June 12, 2015, when Letby was not working, and she had not been in the hospital for two days. Baby C collapsed and died two days later, when Letby was working the night shift. The prosecution suggested the baby had been killed by another injection of air into his stomach. During the trial, Ben Myers KC, defending, said she had not been on shift when the X-ray was taken. But in summing up, Mr Justice Goss did not remind the jury Letby had not been present on that date. He said the radiologists’ evidence showed the baby’s stomach “was full of gas”, which could have been the result of deliberate administration of air. Letby is intending to apply to the Criminal Cases Review Commission to have the case reopened.

Speaking about the new suggestion that Baby C was actually killed by air in his bloodstream, Mark McDonald, her new barrister, said: “It’s remarkable that out of nowhere we have got this new hypothesis. This was never there beforehand, it just came out of thin blue air ... There is no evidence of anyone seeing it happen, no evidence from a diagnostic perspective and no evidence in relation to what line the air is supposed to have gone through.

“We now have expert evidence to say in fact this baby was very poorly as the result of a bowel obstruction and needed specialist attention which it did not receive, and likely surgery to save its life, but this did not happen.”

File on 4 also asked five senior clinicians to review Baby C’s medical notes that were made available during the trial, and all thought the child should have been in a higher level unit.

Prof Colin Morely, a retired professor of neonatology from the University of Cambridge, told the BBC he believed Baby C had died from natural causes.

Letby was convicted of the murders of seven infants and the attempted murders of seven others and is serving 15 whole-life terms in prison.

However, since the verdicts many scientists, statisticians and clinicians have come forward to challenge the evidence that was presented to the jury.

James Phillips, a former government science adviser for Boris Johnson, who has criticised the trial, said: “Pivotal evidence for one of the Lucy Letby murder convictions is deeply flawed, as she appears to have never met the baby at the time it was obtained.”

In court

Soldier ‘stubbed out cigarette on colleague’s face after rejection’

Max Stephens

Winchester Crown Court heard how AirTpr Olivia Nelson forced herself on her alleged victim in an Army barracks and the toilet of a pub

A FEMALE soldier stubbed out a cigarette on a colleague’s face after she rejected her advances, a court has heard.

Olivia Nelson, a 21-year-old airtrooper in the British Army Air Corps, is accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a fellow soldier who had tried to console her following a break-up.

Winchester Crown Court heard how AirTpr Nelson forced herself on her alleged victim in an Army barracks and then in the toilet of a pub during a night out. When the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, managed to escape being groped, AirTpr Nelson put out a cigarette on her face, jurors were told. AirTpr Nelson has been charged with five counts of sexual assault, one count of attempting to assault by penetration and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The Air Corps is the combat aviation arm of the Army where Prince Harry served as an Apache helicopter pilot.

Opening the case yesterday, Mark Karpinski, prosecuting, told the court that AirTpr Nelson and her colleague “quickly became friends in a strictly platonic sense” when they met at Middle Wallop Army Barracks, Hants.

The alleged assaults took place several days after AirTpr Nelson ended her relationship with her girlfriend.

Mr Karpinski told the court: “The [colleague] wanted to be supportive and offered [AirTpr Nelson] all of the comfort that you would expect from a good friend. A couple of days later the defendant went out drinking.” Nelson returned to the barracks “intoxicated”, and tried to kiss her colleague, the jurors were told. Mr Karpinski continued: “[The colleague] was in bed and [AirTpr Nelson] walked up to [her] bedside and initiated unwanted sexual activity without consent, particularly, she tried to kiss [her].”

“Some time later [the colleague] went to the communal toilet cubicles and showers.”

AirTpr Nelson followed her and tried to kiss her again, the court heard.

The alleged victim rejected AirTpr Nelson’s advances and tried to go to bed, but Mr Karpinski said it was there she tried to undress her, “again without her consent”. A few days later, during a night out at a pub in Andover, AirTpr Nelson allegedly followed her colleague into the toilets “grabbed her breasts and tried to kiss her”, before also trying to touch her intimately.

The colleague is said to have “managed to escape”, but AirTpr Nelson went after her and tried touching her intimately again, over her clothing. A short while later, Nelson “put a cigarette out by stubbing it on [the alleged victim’s] face”. In a police interview, AirTpr Nelson answered no comment to all questions put by detectives. She has denied all charges. The trial continues.