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'I'm with the families on this': Health Secretary slams 'insensitive' speculation surrounding child killer Lucy Letby
8 September 2024, 13:24 | Updated: 8 September 2024, 14:19
The Health Secretary has called for an end to "crass and insensitive" speculation surrounding the innocence of convicted child killer Lucy Letby, telling LBC it's a matter "for the courts to decide".
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Speaking on Sunday with Lewis Goodall, Wes Streeting addressed online commentary surrounding the innocence of the convicted child killer, telling the public to "do it quietly".
"I’m with the families on this," Wes Streeting said when asked about growing questions surrounding the nurse's conviction.
"I can’t imagine the unbelievable grief they’re going through without the constant speculation whether someone who has been convicted for these murders, with whole life sentences, being effectively presumed innocent by a number of people"
"Out of respect to the families, do it quietly. I actually think it is crass and insensitive to wage a public campaign in this way," he added.
Killer nurse Lucy Letby was found guilty of trying to murder a premature baby at the Countess of Chester Hospital in February 2016 earlier this year.
The 34-year-old was convicted by another jury last August of the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of six others at the Countess of Chester Hospital's neo-natal unit between June 2015 and June 2016.
Wes Streeting on speculation around Lucy Letby's convictions: 'I'm with the families on this'
It comes as theories of an “unfair trial" gained traction online, with some claiming Lucy Letby's verdict is reliant on faulty evidence and have cast doubt on the safety of her conviction.
"We always presume innocence - Lucy Letby has been found guilty," Wes Streeting pointed out.
"What I would say to campaigners - whether it’s Lucy Letby's legal team or campaigners, is that there is a judicial process to follow.
"We can debate it, you and I; listeners can debate it; we can read the newspapers; we are not the criminal case review board," he told LBC.
Commenting on the case, Streeting, who was Shadow Health Secretary at the time, defended comments made by fellow MP David Davis, who this week questioned data used to support her conviction.
"l'm not saying David Davis, by the way, is presuming her innocence; he’s raising questions about the data sets people are bringing forward and the questions clinicians are raising about whether there is reasonable doubt," he told LBC.
"Letby had the right to appeal, she took her appeal to the court of appeal - and that appeal was rejected in a judgement that went to 50 pages. It was a thorough consideration of the appeal - and it was rejected."
Watch again: Health Secretary Wes Streeting speaks to Lewis Goodall
It comes as the distraught families of the killer neo-natal nurse's newborn victims said they were suffering all over again - as politicians and campaigners raised questions over the conviction.
Some claim that Lucy Letby's verdict is reliant on faulty evidence and have cast doubt on the safety of her conviction.
"We have a fair and independent judiciary in this country. Let the judicial enquiry run its course," Streeting said.
"It is for the courts to decide on the basis of evidence," he said, adding: "Let the judicial enquiry run its course".
It comes as the Health Secretry told Lewis Goodhall that if Labour doesn't act now, the country will see "the NHS effectively going bust".
Streeting confirmed to LBC during the same interview that he still believes the Government can bring NHS waiting lists "down by millions" in the next five years and stood by his "constitutional commitments".
He also claimed the report revealed the NHS was "so badly prepared and resourced before the pandemic, we ended up cancelling more operations and appointments and procedures than any other major country".
The comments come ahead of a landmark review into the NHS treatment of children - which is due to be published on Thursday.
Penned by leading surgeon Lord Darzi, the wide-ranging report is expected to reveal that more than 100,000 infants aged under two were forced to wait more than six hours in A&E departments across England last year.
