The creator of Line of Duty has reportedly paused work on a new drama about convicted serial killer Lucy Letby – over growing doubts about the nurse’s convictions.
Letby, 35, was found guilty by a jury in July last year and given 15 whole life sentences for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others between June 2015 and June 2016 – but in February, a panel of medical experts working with her defence team said they believe the former nurse did not commit the murders. Now Jed Mercurio – the producer of BBC’s Line of Duty, has put a new drama about Letby on hold as “the situation is more complicated than it first appeared”, a source told the Mail on Sunday. Mercurio was reportedly working on the programme with Dr Ravi Jayaram – who testified at Letby’s two trails, saying he had caught her “virtually red-handed” as she stood over a baby’s cot and deliberately dislodged the breathing tube, causing the child’s death. But last week, an email surfaced from the doctor which claims to “contradict” one of his claims that Letby did not ask for help when one baby began to deteriorate.
In the email, sent to his colleagues at the Countess of Chester Hospital hospital on May 4, 2017 – before Letby was being investigated – Dr Jayaram wrote: “At time of deterioration… staff nurse Letby at incubator and called Dr Jayaram to inform of low saturations.”
He also suggested Baby K had died due to frailty, saying: “Baby subsequently deteriorated and eventually died, but events around this would fit with explainable events associated with extreme prematurity.”
During Letby’s 2024 trial, Dr Ravi claimed: “Lucy Letby was stood next to the incubator. She wasn’t looking at me. She didn’t have her hands in the incubator.” When asked by prosecuting counsel Nick Johnson KC whether he had “any call for help from Lucy Letby”, he responded: “No, not at all.”
Letby’s defence team say that Appeal Court judges did not know about the email when they ruled on an appeal to her conviction last October. It comes after a 14-strong panel published a report on April 3 alleging Letby committed no crimes at the Countless of Chester Hospital in 2015 and 2016. They provided a list of alternative causes of deterioration.
Letby lost two bids last year to challenge her convictions at the Court of Appeal, in May for seven murders and seven attempted murders, and in October for the attempted murder of a baby girl which she was convicted of by a different jury at a retrial.
Last month, lawyers for the families of Letby’s victims rubbished the international panel’s findings as “full of analytical holes” and “a rehash” of the defence case heard at trial.
Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes, the Senior Investigating Officer in Letby’s case, meanwhile said their investigation into her crimes were “thorough” as they hit back at much of the “ill-informed” criticism.
Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: “Due to the Thirlwall inquiry and police investigations, it would not be appropriate to comment further.”
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