Child serial killer Lucy Letby will face no further criminal charges

Prosecutors say the new information they had received from police did not meet the "evidential test" to pursue further criminal charges against the former nurse. But police have hit back saying the evidence met the "charging standard".

Tuesday 20 January 2026 17:31, UK

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Child serial killer Lucy Letby will not face criminal charges in relation to further allegations of deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies.

The Crown Prosecution Service said on Tuesday the extra information it had received from police had not met "the evidential test".

Letby was sentenced to 15 whole-life terms for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others on a hospital neonatal unit between June 2015 and June 2016.

Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: "We received a file of evidence from Cheshire Constabulary in July 2025 asking us to consider further allegations against Lucy Letby, 36, relating to deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women's Hospital.

"Following a thorough review of that evidence, we have decided that no criminal charges should be brought in respect of those further allegations."

Mr Ferguson said the decision not to pursue further charges had been made "independently, based on the evidence and in line with our legal test".

"The Crown Prosecution Service considered offences of murder and attempted murder in respect of two infants who died and attempted murder in respect of seven infants who survived," he said.

"We concluded that the evidential test was not met in any of those cases."

In a rare public response, Cheshire Constabulary said the decision was "not the outcome that we had anticipated throughout our investigation".

"We believed the evidence submitted met the Crown Prosecution Service charging standard," the force said.

"The CPS did not agree and despite our representations we must respect the decision that has been made.

"There will be some who will feel that this is news worth celebrating.

"We do not share this view and would ask that people respect the privacy and feelings of the families involved."

The former nurse, who has always maintained her innocence, lost two bids last year to challenge her convictions at the Court of Appeal.

A group of campaigners have been backing Letby and have submitted reports to the Criminal Cases Review Commission in an attempt to overturn her convictions.

Letby's barrister, Mark McDonald, said: "Lucy Letby has always maintained her innocence - she has never hurt a child and never would.

"It is vital that the case is now referred back to the Court of Appeal as a matter of urgency.

"Thirty-one reports have been submitted to the CCRC, compiled by 26 internationally renowned experts, which provide overwhelming evidence that no babies were murdered."

Tory MP Sir David Davis, who has repeatedly called for Letby to be retried, said on X: "The CCRC must conclude its review quickly and refer the case to the Court of Appeal.

"It has long been my view that any retrial in Lucy Letby's case should happen as quickly as possible."

Lawyer Tamlin Bolton, who represents several families of babies Letby has been convicted of harming or killing, said: "While we note today's decision our focus remains on supporting those families we represent access the specialist and support and therapies they require."

"There may well be other families upset at today's decision," she said.

"It's important that families with serious concerns about what happened to their babies are now supported so they can receive the answers they deserve."

Child serial killer Lucy Letby will face no further criminal charges

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