Nurses Rally to Support Convicted Neonatal Nurse Amid Calls for Review

On November 15, 2025, around 200 nurses and health professionals gathered in Sheffield to show their support for Lucy Letby, a neonatal nurse who was sentenced to life imprisonment in August 2023 for the murder of seven newborn babies and the attempted murder of six more. The conference, organized by the campaign group Nineteen Nurses, discussed the growing calls for an independent review into Letby's conviction.

The medical staff, representing hospitals across the UK, expressed mounting fears that Letby is a victim of a grave miscarriage of justice. This sentiment has been bolstered by recent media coverage, including an ITV documentary series and an article by Peter Hitchens in the Mail on Sunday, which have questioned Letby's guilt. Furthermore, a panel of 14 scientists and medical experts has presented new evidence arguing that many of the deaths can be explained by natural causes.

Letby's legal team has now passed this new evidence to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which has the power to refer her case to the Court of Appeal if it believes there may have been a miscarriage of justice. The Nineteen Nurses group has also voiced its support for this move.

During the conference, Viv Blondek, a retired nurse and founder member of Nineteen Nurses, spoke about the "scapegoating culture" in the NHS, where individuals are blamed rather than addressing systemic failures. She argued that the police should not be the ones investigating such incidents, as they lack the relevant medical expertise.

The case has drawn comparisons to that of Amanda Jenkinson, who was wrongfully convicted of attempting to murder a patient in 1993 and spent five years in prison before her conviction was quashed in 2004. Jenkinson, who remains scarred by her experience, has expressed her fears that Letby may be facing a similar fate.