Lucy Letby: Scapegoat? C5 documentary exposes 'shocking' claims about evidence used to convict nurse
Letby is in jail for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder another sevenLucy Letby: Scapegoat will tonight put a new spin on the notorious case of the neonatal nurse, who is serving 15 whole life orders for murdering multiple newborn babies.
The brand new Channel 5 documentary promises “shocking and fresh revelations” as it re-examines the evidence behind Letby’s convictions.
Viewers will be left considering whether alleged failures at the Countess of Chester Hospital may have contributed to the deaths and collapses of babies in its neonatal unit.
The documentary features testimony from an anonymous senior consultant who worked at the hospital and claims the neonatal unit was seriously struggling at the time.
Viewers will also hear the thoughts of one grieving mother.
Lucy Letby: Scapegoat? lands on Channel 5
Letby, 36, was convicted in 2023 of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others while working at the hospital between 2015 and 2016. She has consistently denied the allegations.
Lucy Letby: Scapegoat? has been made by The Sun in partnership with Channel 5 in an effort to see if alleged failures at the hospital were overlooked.
Investigative journalist Rob Pattinson will be leading the documentary. He will investigate claims that some of the evidence presented during Letby’s trial could have been interpreted differently.
Leading experts will also share their doubts that Letby injected six of the seven victims with air. This claim was put forward by the prosecution.
One consultant, who has not been named, says: “I’m extremely worried that an innocent woman is holed up in prison when the evidence is extremely poor that she actually did anything wrong.
“I personally wasn’t of the mind that there was a killer on the unit. I felt that there was probably a more simple explanation for what was going on.
“If you’ve got doctors that really want this unit to run and don’t want it to be closed down, then if there’s someone or something else on the horizon that could be blamed, it’s a natural human trait to blame that other person or factor.”
‘Plumbing and sewage problems’
The whistleblower consultant is keen to stress in Lucy Letby: Scapegoat? that he does not believe that anyone ‘intentionally engineered a criminal case’.
“There is an element of people saving their own backs. It’s entirely possible, in my view, that Lucy Letby was a scapegoat,” he explains.
Meanwhile, one mother tells the documentary that her son Archie collapsed and later died in December 2016. This was several months after Letby had left the hospital.
She will raise concerns about plumbing and sewage problems at the hospital. The bereft mum questions whether infection could have played a role.
Letby’s appeals have so far been unsuccessful. The Criminal Cases Review Commission is considering her case.
A spokesperson at the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said in response to Lucy Letby: Scapegoat?: “We understand the significant public interest in these matters and recognise the importance of providing reassurance to our patients and the local communities we serve.
“However, it is equally as vital that we continue to recognise and cooperate with the ongoing legal processes and we are unable to comment on issues that remain subject to an ongoing investigation by Cheshire Police.
“When it is appropriate to do so, we will provide further information about the actions we have taken to strengthen patient safety and governance and about any further actions we take or have taken to address the Thirlwall Report’s findings and recommendations.”
When Lucy Letby: Scapegoat? is on
Lucy Letby: Scapegoat? is landing on Channel 5 tonight (September 21, 2026). The 90-minute long documentary starts at 9pm with an end time of 10.30pm.
The documentary will also be available to stream on 5.
This will definitely be an interesting watch.
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