00:00 Nurse Lucy Letby has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of seven babies and
00:06 the attempted murder of six more. Mr Justice Goss handed down the sentence at Manchester
00:11 Crown Court on Monday. Letby carried out her crimes at the Countess of Chester Hospital
00:17 between 2015 and 2016 and is now the most prolific child serial killer in modern British
00:24 history. She refused to appear in the dock for her sentencing.
00:29 There was premeditation, calculation and cunning in your actions. You specifically targeted
00:38 twins and latterly triplets. Some babies were healthy, others had medical issues of which
00:46 you were aware. You have no remorse. There are no mitigating factors. In their totality,
00:55 the offences of murder and attempted murder were of exceptionally high seriousness and
01:02 just punishment, according to law, requires a whole life order.
01:09 The mother of child E, a premature born boy who died, and child F, his twin brother who
01:15 survived, told the court that Letby's refusal to appear was just one final act of wickedness
01:20 from a coward. Cheryl Corbell, the mother of murdered nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Corbell,
01:26 has previously called for a law which compels convicted criminals to attend their sentencing.
01:32 Olivia's murderer, Thomas Cashman, refused to be in court to hear the judge hand him
01:36 a life sentence in April. The government has said it is committed to changing the law.
01:42 I think it's cowardly that people who commit such horrendous crimes do not face their victims
01:49 and hear first-hand the impact that their crimes have had on them and their families
01:53 and loved ones. We are looking and have been at changing the law to make sure that that
01:59 happens and that's something that we'll bring forward in due course.
02:02 The government has also announced an independent inquiry into Letby's crimes after it was revealed
02:07 that the Countess of Chester Hospital ignored doctors' warnings about the neonatal nurse.
02:13 However, there are calls for the inquiry to be led by a judge with the power to summon
02:17 witnesses. Cheshire Constabulary are now reviewing the care of some 4,000 babies at the Countess
02:23 of Chester Hospital, as well as Liverpool Women's Hospital, where Letby was trained.
02:28 Police have contacted more families to say that their children may be among Letby's victims.
02:33 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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