Killer nurse Lucy Letby should be dragged into court to hear the full horrors of her crimes, the victims’ families said today.
Letby, the most prolific child serial killer in modern British history, is expected to face the rest of her life behind bars when she is sentenced on Monday, but is refusing to come to the dock for the hearing.
Today, former justice secretary Robert Buckland said she should be forced to listen to families give their victim impact statements from her cell if she cannot be dragged into court.
‘She needs to hear the victim’s personal statements, as impact statements that will really bring home I think, to the wider world, the appalling devastating impact of the loss of these innocent children, these innocent babies, have had upon dozens of families,’ Mr Buckland told GB News.
The nurse murdered seven babies and tried to kill six more while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit between 2015-2016.
However, detectives are said to have identified 30 other newborns they believe Letby attacked after a review of incidents at the Countess of Chester hospital where she worked. Letby was on duty for each of the unexplained collapses. All of the babies survived, the Guardian reported.
She has joined the list of the UK’s most prolific child killers, including the Moors murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley and the so-called Angel of Death paediatric nurse Beverley Allitt.
Asked on GB News about Lucy Letby’s refusal to attend her sentencing for the murders of seven babies, minister for children Claire Coutinho said: ‘Well, look I think it’s appalling. I think she should be there.
Children’s nurse Lucy Letby (pictured in a custody photo) went on a year-long killing spree while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital
Letby cries as she listens to the first guilty verdicts being read out by the foreman of the jury at Manchester Crown Court
‘And I know that the Justice Secretary has said he’s very committed to making changes that are needed to make sure that people who have committed awful crimes have to go to court so they can hear things like the victims’ impact statement, which is really their moment to tell that person how this has impacted them.’
On how it should be done, she said: ‘I’m not a justice minister but what I do know is that the Justice Secretary has talked about his commitment to it.
‘I know that there is commitment across Government to making sure that people who have committed crimes are facing the reality of that so they can hear these things and my understanding is that does mean that a change in the law is needed and the Justice Secretary has said that he’s committed to looking at that.’
On why existing legislation is not being used to bring Letby to court, Ms Coutinho said: ‘Well, I’m sure they will look at everything that they can do to make sure that that is enforced. But I think there are some changes that it sounds like are needed as well to make sure that in every instance the perpetrator has to go to court and have that moment, as I said, of justice.’
She added: ‘I’m not a justice minister, but I think one of the things that may be a challenge is if someone gets a life order, then extending custody by two years might not be enough of an incentive to make sure that people come.’
Letby could be handed a whole-life order by judge Mr Justice Goss at Manchester Crown Court. Whole-life orders are the most severe punishment available in the UK criminal justice system, for those who commit the most serious crimes.
Letby may attend court although she previously indicated she did not intend to return to the dock, did not want to take any part in her sentencing hearing, and would not follow the hearing via video-link from prison.
Mr Justice Goss said the court has no power to force a defendant to attend a sentencing hearing but a Government source suggested ‘lawful enforcement’ could be used as a last resort to ensure Letby attends if it is considered necessary, reasonable and proportionate.
‘Lucy Letby should be in court to hear society’s condemnation of the enormity of her crimes, expressed by the judge,’ the source told the PA news agency.
‘If that requires the use of lawful enforcement, so be it. If she continues to refuse, that will only strengthen our resolve to change the law as soon as we can.’
The aunt of murder victim Zara Aleena has said that if criminals like Letby are not persuaded to attend their sentencing it ‘will continue as a trend’.
Speaking on Times Radio, Farah Naz, whose niece’s killer, Jordan McSweeney, refused to attend court for his sentencing, said she feels for the families who will not get the ‘brief moment of retribution’.
She added: ‘It’s not full, but to see her in court and to stand and to have a moment perhaps where they can see that is part of her punishment…
An artist’s sketch of empty chairs inside the court after Letby refused to go into the dock to hear the further verdicts against her
Letby’s parents, Susan and John, arrive at Manchester Crown Court on August 18. The couple supported her every day in court. A source told the Mail that Letby’s mother was distraught when her daughter was arrested – wailing and crying, even telling police: ‘I did it, take me instead,’ in a desperate bid to protect her
Letby – who grew up with two loving parents – is pictured as a young girl
Letby was convicted of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six more at the Countess of Chester Hospital, in Cheshire (pictured)
‘And so I feel sad for those families that also may want to address her in their victim impact statements. And, I think, to have that moment to address that person that’s destroyed your life certainly is so important to the process of justice and so important to the victims themselves in their own process of dealing with their trauma.
‘But I think it’s much more than that. I know that we, you know, we’ve been talking about ‘face the family’… I think that Letby has to face justice, and she has to face society. And I think we don’t have to drag in the criminal. I think we can persuade them.
‘There are certain other ways of getting them into the courtroom so they face justice, and that would be to extend minimum tariffs or to refuse a tariff or to refuse parole or to refuse certain privileges in prison.
Earlier this year, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk said the Government is ‘committed’ to changing the law so criminals are compelled to attend their sentencing hearings.
Parents of babies murdered by Lucy Letby last night demanded a law change to stop ‘cowardly’ offenders from ‘hiding’ when they are sentenced.
The nurse is expected to refuse to appear in the dock when the judge imposes her punishment later today but the Government has vowed to force the child killer to attend.
If Letby does not attend, she will get to avoid listening to victim impact statements, prepared by the families of those she murdered and harmed, explaining how she devastated their lives. MPs and parents of the infants last night demanded new legislation be fast-tracked to force serious offenders to ‘face the music’.
One father, whose twin boys Letby tried to murder, told the Mail her refusal to appear at Manchester Crown Court was a ‘slap in the face’ for her victims.
‘I’m so angry that Letby is refusing to come to court to hear her sentence,’ he said. ‘She is a coward and we feel cheated that she will not be present to hear exactly how her terrible actions have affected our boys and our lives.
‘What gives her the right to refuse to come up from the cells or to tell the judge that she doesn’t intend to listen to his sentence? The law must change. The judge should be given the power to summon her into the dock to face myself, my wife and all the other victims who desperately want her to hear our victim impact statements.
‘It is a total injustice and slap in the face for us all. The British justice system needs to change, to ensure that, in the future, all victims’ voices are heard by those that perpetrate such horrendous crimes.’
On Friday, Letby was convicted of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six more at the Countess of Chester Hospital, in Cheshire. By then, she was already refusing to enter the dock and her barrister, Ben Myers KC, indicated to the judge, Mr Justice Goss, that his client would not be appearing before him for sentencing.
He said: ‘The sentencing hearing will take place whether she is present or not. The court has no power to force her to attend – therefore there is nothing I can do about it.’
The judge is likely to impose a whole life tariff, meaning Letby will never be freed. She is likely to become only the fourth woman in British legal history to be given such a punishment.
The Government is expected to include changes to legislation requiring offenders to be present in court for sentencing in the King’s Speech in November. The proposals will compel offenders to attend or impose an increased jail sentence if they refuse by making ‘no shows’ a contempt of court. But this extra punishment would have little effect on the most serious criminals, such as Letby, who have no prospect of ever being freed.
Tory former justice secretary Robert Buckland said there should be ‘nowhere to hide’ for offenders such as Letby and suggested the sentencing be played into her cell, regardless of her wishes.
He said changes could be made to the Victims Bill, which is going through Parliament, or emergency legislation drafted to get the changes into law quicker.
Sir Robert told GB News: ‘Sadly, the court’s hands are tied at the moment. My suggestion would be to make sure there was a live link beamed into the cell of the sound and/or send pictures to ensure that Letby has nowhere to hide and has to listen to what the judge is saying about the case.’
The twins’ father said: ‘I agree with the suggestion of having cameras in cells so video can be beamed in – Letby should have nowhere to hide.’
Letby’s refusal to appear comes after a series of high-profile cases where criminals have avoided coming to court to hear their fate, denying victims the satisfaction of seeing them sent down.
The judge is likely to impose a whole life tariff, meaning Letby will never be freed. She is likely to become only the fourth woman in British legal history to be given such a punishment
Tory former justice secretary Robert Buckland said there should be ‘nowhere to hide’ for offenders such as Letby and suggested the sentencing be played into her cell, regardless of her wishes
Letby – wearing a blue hoodie with the strings covered in pink glitter – is taken from her house in handcuffs after being arrested by Cheshire Police in July 2018
Letby steps into the police car – telling officers to be careful because she had just had knee surgery
Letby being quizzed in July 2018 by an officer about the rise in deaths on her watch. Letby replies: ‘They told me there had been a lot more deaths and I’d been linked as someone who had been there for a lot of them.’ Asked if she was concerned about the rise in mortality, Letby says – meekly – ‘yes’
They include Thomas Cashman, 34, who shot and killed nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel. His absence from court in April was described by Olivia’s mother, Cheryl, 46, as a ‘kick in the teeth’.
Tamlin Bolton, of Switalskis Solicitors, who represents parents of several of Letby’s victims, said: ‘It really is the final insult. For Letby to refuse to face these parents speaks of cowardice and shows a complete disregard for the damage she has caused.’
Steve Brine, the Conservative chairman of the health select committee, added: ‘Lucy Letby 100 per cent should be present to face the music and Parliament should legislate to make sure that defendants do so.’
Tory former Cabinet minister David Jones told the Mail: ‘It will be devastating to the families of the murdered babies if Letby is not in the dock when sentence is passed. Nothing can ever heal their pain, but it will not be true justice if she is not made to face the consequences of her actions in public. It must never happen again in this country, either. The law can’t be changed quickly enough.’
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told The Telegraph that he would change the law if he won the next election as it was important that victims and their families that criminals are present in court, saying he saw the impact when he was DIrector of Public Prosecution.
He added that ‘while nothing can ever fully heal families’ pain, it brings an element of closure and gives others confidence that, if they come forward, the system will deliver justice for them’.
Sir Keir said that allowing criminals to avoid court is a ‘shameful gap in the process’ and that his government would close it.
Whole-life sentences are reserved for multiple killings, cases involving terrorism, abduction, sexual abuse, pre-planning, the murder of an on-duty police or prison officer, or if the defendant has already been convicted of a murder. The only other women to receive the sentence are Moors murderer Myra Hindley – who died in 2002 – serial killer Rose West and Joanna Dennehy, who stabbed three men to death.
Lord Falconer, former Lord Chancellor, said: ‘Refusing to attend the sentencing should be an aggravating factor judges can take into account in increasing the sentence. In this case, the appropriate sentence is likely to be so heavy that such a power will make little or no difference.
‘All the judge can do is acknowledge and condemn this final cruelty by Letby. For the families of her victims, there is no escape, no ability to avoid the worst by being absent from the difficult times. It is with them for ever.’
Former director of public prosecutions Lord Macdonald told the Telegraph that despite everyone in Britain wanting to see Letby in the dock for sentencing, it is ‘very, very difficult’ to force her to do so as because she is likely to get a whole life sentence she cannot be threatened with much.