MURDERED BABIES SHOULD BEEN SAVED

'I do genuinely believe that there are four or five babies who could be going to school now who aren't'

- Chris Riches

BABIES' lives could have been saved if hospital chiefs had gone to police when doctors first voiced their fears about killer nurse Lucy Letby.

Letby, 33, was convicted of murder and became the most prolific child murderer in modern British history. She was found guilty of killing seven babies and attempting to murder six others after a 10-month trial at Manchester Crown Court.

As families of her victims spoke of their grief- and police said they were investigating up to a possible further 4,000 cases - senior medics said they raised concerns with hospital management over Letby but, almost unbelievably, were made to apologise for upsetting her.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay last night ordered an independent inquiry into why she was not unmasked and stopped sooner.

The court heard Letby murdered "in plain sight" - injecting newborns with air and insulin, and overfeeding, at Countess of Chester Hospital for a year from June 2015.

Cheshire Police are looking at Letby's possible treatment of up to 4,000 babies there and at Liverpool Women's Hospital on placement.

Doctors who tried to raise the alarm think some babies might be alive now if bosses had acted sooner. Police were not called in until two years after the first deaths.

Paediatrician Dr Ravi Jayaram said Countess of Chester trust chiefs told him to "draw a line" under his suspicions - and to apologise to Letby. He told ITV News: "I do genuinely believe there are four or five babies who could be going to school now who aren't."