David Davis urges police to investigate doctor who provided vital testimony against killer nurse Lucy Letby
11 May 2025, 16:55 | Updated: 11 May 2025, 17:28
A former Cabinet minister has called on police to investigate a doctor whose testimony was used to convict killer nurse Lucy Letby - after emails emerged contradicting his testimony against her.
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Sir David Davis MP has previously been outspoken on his belief that Letby deserves a retrial.
The former Brexit Secretary believes the leaked emails could potentially exonerate the now jailed former nurse.
The 35-year-old, from Hereford, is serving 15 whole-life orders after she was convicted across two trials at Manchester Crown Court of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others, with two attempts on one of her victims, between June 2015 and June 2016.
The MP has now written to chief constable Mark Roberts to lodge a formal complaint against Dr Ravi Jayaram, the consultant paediatrician at Countess of Chester hospital.
In the email, Sir David Davis complained of a “clear and concerning” discrepancy between the sworn evidence presented to the courts, and the contents of the email.
He told Parliament there was “no hard evidence” against her, as reported in the Times.
The moment Lucy Letby was arrested over baby deaths
Dr Jayaram’s testimony against Letby was considered a key piece of evidence in her trial.
Referring to “Baby K”, Dr Jayaram testified he’d seen Letby “stood next to the incubator”, not calling for help or intervening as the baby died.
When the prosecution asked Dr Jayaram if he had heard Letby shout for help, he said “No, not at all. I was surprised that the alarm was not going off.”
The paediatrician also accused Letby of purposely dislodging the baby’s breathing tube.
Dr Jayaram was the only medical witness able to directly link Letby to the babies’ deaths.
However, surfaced emails from May 2017 appear to contradict this testimony.
In the case of “Baby K”, the surfaced emails from the paediatrician note that Letby had “called Dr Jayaram to inform of low saturations”.
The same email also put the baby’s death down to “extreme prematurity”, appearing to contradict the claim that Letby had dislodged a breathing tube.
Neither of these emails made it into the final document sent by consultants to the police.
'Misleading or incomplete testimony'
Sir David Davis has said the leaked emails would have been of “substantial relevance” to the courts.
“The implications of this are serious,” the MP said. “The jury in her trial may have reached its verdict on the basis of misleading or incomplete testimony.”
“Given that Dr Jayaram’s statements formed a critical part of the prosecution’s case, I believe there is compelling public interest in determining whether perjury may have been committed.”
“I am therefore making a formal complaint against Dr Jayaram.
"Cheshire Constabulary now has a clear obligation to launch a formal perjury investigation into Dr Jayaram’s testimony.”
Letby’s lawyer Mark McDonald has also said Dr Jayaram was “central” to the initial police investigation into the nurse.
He commented that the apparent discrepancy between the emails and the testimony “totally undermines” the convictions, but is “only the tip of the iceberg” when it comes to fresh evidence that could exonerate Letby.
However, another email emerged where Dr Jayaram had noted the “abnormal behaviour” of Letby.
The Cheshire police have responded, saying: “The chief constable has received the letter, this has been reviewed and he will be responding in due course addressing all the concerns raised.”
Letby lost two bids last year to challenge her convictions at the Court of Appeal, in May for the seven murders and seven attempted one, and in October for the attempted murder of a baby girl which she was convicted of by a different jury at a retrial.
Following a public inquiry, Lady Justice Thirlwall is due to publish in November the findings into how the former nurse was able to commit her crimes.
