THIS is the grovelling apology letter to child killer Lucy Letby which doctors were forced to sign after they repeatedly tried to blow the whistle on her.
The medics had attempted to raise concerns over the nurse following a string of unexplained baby deaths all happening while she was on shift.
But hospital chiefs told them to back off and say sorry — with Letby even offered a role at Alder Hey children’s hospital after bringing a grievance case.
Bosses at the Countess of Chester Hospital, Cheshire, warned whistle-blowing doctors of “consequences” if they continued to voice their fears.
The astonishing letter, sanctioned by the hospital’s former CEO Tony Chambers, read: “Dear Lucy, we would like to apologise for any inappropriate comments that may have been made during this difficult period. We are very sorry for the stress and upset that you have experienced in the last year.
“Please be reassured that patient safety has been our absolute priority during this difficult time.”
The letter, dated 28th February, 2017, is believed to have been signed by seven doctors.
On Friday, Letby, 33, was found guilty of murdering seven babies on the neonatal ward at the hospital, and the attempted murder of six others.
Last night, former top execs there were under mounting pressure to face further questions and possible sanctions over their response to whistle-blowers.
They missed multiple opportunities to stop Letby’s killing spree and also delayed calling the police, despite months of warnings that she may have been killing babies.
A government inquiry will now seek answers for the devastated parents of the murdered infants.
Those facing questions over how the hospital responded are boss Mr Chambers, ex-nursing and quality director Alison Kelly, ex-medical director Ian Harvey, neonatal unit manager Eirian Powell, head of nursing for urgent care Karen Rees and Ruth Millward, head of risk and patient safety.
Mr Chambers and Ms Kelly were among a select few members of staff who met Queen Camilla— then the Duchess of Cornwall — when she opened a hospital building in 2014.
The senior staffers — some who have left the hospital with bumper pay-offs and lucrative pensions — have faced no action, despite a catalogue of failures. Hospital consultants raised concerns about Letby with bosses several times, but her trial heard they were urged “not to make a fuss”.
The baby killer was eventually removed from night shifts, but continued attacking infants during the day.
Former Crown Prosecution Service chief in North West England Nazir Afzal said of the hospital bosses: “They wilfully neglected to perform their duty to such a degree as to amount to an abuse of the public’s trust.
“Without reasonable excuse or justification, that’s the offence of misconduct in public office.”
Concerns about Letby were first raised by the neonatal unit’s lead consultant, Dr Stephen Brearey, in October 2015.
But when nothing was done, the nurse went on to harm five more babies, killing two.
The first five murders all happened from June to October 2015, the final two in June 2016.
On Friday, Dr Brearey told the BBC’s Panorama he demanded Letby be taken off duty after the final two deaths, but hospital management initially refused.
When the nurse was at last moved on, she was assigned to the risk and patient safety office, run by Ruth Millward, where she worked in close proximity to senior managers investigating her.
Staff also failed to report the infant deaths adequately, meaning the high fatality rate on the unit could not be detected by wider NHS officials.
Dr Brearey said he first became concerned in the summer of 2015 when he saw a spike in infant deaths on the unit.
He called a meeting with unit manager Eirian Powell and the hospital’s director of nursing Alison Kelly.
He told them he had noticed Letby had been on shift for all three deaths, but at that point nobody suspected foul play.
By October 2015, when two more babies died while Letby was working, Dr Brearey became concerned she might be harming children.
He again contacted Powell.
But the senior manager was not concerned and, in an email, described Letby’s link to the deaths as “unfortunate” and said it was just coincidence.
Dr Brearey says he also raised his concerns with Ms Kelly, but heard nothing back.
In February 2016, consultant Dr Ravi Jayaram said he saw Letby standing over a baby when it seemed to have stopped breathing.
The medic told the trial he wished he had gone straight to the police.
He said: “We were also beginning to get a reasonable amount of pressure from senior management at the hospital not to make a fuss.
“In retrospect, we were all grown-ups and we should have stood up and not listened.”
Dr Brearey again contacted Ms Kelly and the hospital’s medical director, Ian Harvey, demanding an urgent meeting.
He also emailed Ms Powell. Three months went by, and another two babies almost died.
It was not until May that year that the consultant got the meeting with senior managers he asked for and was able to voice his concern.
Again, managers were in denial and Letby continued working.
In June, another baby had collapsed and two of three triplets died from poisoning while Letby was on shift.
Another consultant, Dr John Gibbs — one of the four doctors who had expressed concerns about Letby— told the trial the deaths were a “tipping point”.
That night, Dr Brearey says he called duty executive Karen Rees and demanded Letby be taken off duty, but she refused.
By this point, Dr Brearey had the support of seven consultant paediatricians.
The next day, another baby almost died, again while the killer nurse was on shift.
She worked another three shifts before finally being removed from duty — more than a year after the first incident.
On June 29, one of the consultants sent an email under the subject line: “Should we refer ourselves to external investigation?”
He wrote: “I believe we need help from outside agencies. And the only agency who can investigate all of us, I believe, is the police.”
But medical director Mr Harvey replied: “Action is being taken… all emails cease forthwith.”
Dr Jayaram said executives had ordered him to “draw a line” under his concerns insisting there was “no smoking gun”.
After being removed, Letby had the audacity to launch a grievance against the trust accusing medics of “bullying” and making false claims.
The Sunday Times said her parents accompanied her to a meeting with hospital bosses where they read out a statement on her behalf.
And when she received an apology, she was also offered a role at the world famous Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, as well as support for a potential master’s degree or advanced nurse training.
The grievance inquiry told Letby: “This behaviour has resulted in you, a junior colleague and fellow professional, feeling isolated and vulnerable, putting your reputation in question. This is unacceptable and could be viewed as victimisation.”
The doctors who were advised to apologise were told if they did not they could face a referral to the General Medical Council.
Describing the meeting with the hospital’s chief exec, Dr Jayaram said: “The very first thing that Tony Chambers said to us . . . was, ‘I can see how that might be a very convenient explanation for things’.
“He’d already decided that wasn’t going on and this was just us trying to cover up.”
Dr Brearey said: “Tony Chambers concluded the meeting with a statement to us saying that we were to apologise to Lucy Letby and that a line had been drawn, and that we were not to cross that line, and if we were to cross that line there would be consequences.”
The apology letter was then written which consultants were forced to sign.
Dr Jayaram told ITV News: “I do genuinely believe that there are four or five babies who could be going to school now who aren’t.”
At trial, Dr Gibbs said senior management were “extremely reluctant” to involve the police because it would be “catastrophic” for the hospital.
The trust finally contacted the police in May 2017 — two years after the deaths of the first of the seven babies Letby killed.
Following her conviction, which makes her the worst child killer in British history, the government has ordered an independent inquiry.
Yesterday, a former NHS Trust chairman said the probe into Letby needs to be swift — and that no detail can be covered up.
Roy Lilley told GB News the case exposes the need for mandatory post-mortems for all premature baby deaths.
He said: “The NHS is full of regulations, red flags, and whistleblowing obligations. But they clearly don’t work.”
