Statutory inquiry needed to learn lessons from the Letby murders - The Yorkshire Post says

Whatever sentence was passed on the former nurse was never going to undo the damage that she has inflicted on the families who have lost babies.

The 33-year-old was convicted by a jury of murdering seven babies and trying to kill six more while working in the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neonatal unit between 2015 and 2016.

This is a truly shocking case that has reverberated across the nation. And while the judge was right to pass the stiffest sentence on Letby, there are still many questions that need to be answered, not just for the sake of the victims’ families but also to ensure that we never see a repeat of anything like the heinous crimes committed by the former neonatal nurse.

While an independent inquiry has been ordered into the matter, lawyers for two of the families have said it does not go far enough and needs to be statutory. The inquiry needs to be judge-led, as Steve Brine, the chairman of the health select committee has also suggested.

A statutory inquiry with legal powers to compel witnesses to give evidence is the only way to win the confidence of the public.

And no stone must be unturned in understanding what led to the crimes of Letby going undetected.

The fact that senior doctors were ordered to apologise to Letby for raising their concerns about her shows that there were systemic failures. In fact, two consultants were told to enter a mediation process with the nurse.