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17 November 2023 / Sailesh Mehta , Tom Davies
Issue: 8049 / Categories: Features , Criminal
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The Lucy Letby Inquiry

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Sailesh Mehta & Tom Davies put the Lucy Letby Inquiry under the spotlight
  • Key differences between statutory and non-statutory inquiries.
  • Non-statutory inquiries will be used where the main participants are likely to be public officials and therefore there is a high likelihood they will comply.
  • Closed proceedings may reassure witnesses and encourage witnesses to be candid in their evidence.

In August 2023, Lucy Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies, and attempting to murder six more, at the neo-natal unit of Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016. In his sentencing remarks, Goss J described how Letby had targeted extremely vulnerable, premature babies, in particular twins or triplets, and used a variety of methods to kill them in an attempt to deflect suspicion away from herself. After they had died, she searched for the parents of the children she had killed, and falsified records to avoid detection. When her home was searched, confidential records and documents, as a well as a diary, were found which documented

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NEWS
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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