The parents have waited years for answers to their questions... It's time to get on with this inquiry

Judge starts probe of baby killer nurse Letby's hospital

- PHIL CARDY

LADY Justice Thirlwall yesterday vowed to get answers for the parents of babies killed and injured by Lucy Letby and rebuked those questioning the nurse's convictions.

The judge was speaking as she opened her public inquiry examining events at the Countess of Chester Hospital's neonatal unit where Letby, 34, worked.

She said: "The parents of the babies named on the indictment have waited for years for the answers to their questions. It's time to get on with this inquiry." Letby was last year sentenced to a whole-life prison term after being convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others.

Lady Justice Thirlwall said speculation about her guilt was "entirely from people who were not at the trial" and had created "an enormous amount of stress" for the parents of her victims.

She said: "At the heart of this inquiry are the babies who died, who were injured and their parents. I do not presume to describe the feelings that those parents have already experienced nor those that lie ahead.