chapter two
CHAPTER TWO. LUCY LETBY – WHISTLE BLOWER.
Lucy Letby was a “whistle blower”. She constantly complained that the consultants were rarely on the ward, and she often complained to the hospital management that the conditions on the ward put lives at risk. It is for this reason (in my opinion) that the consultants and the hospital management targeted and “scapegoated” her, looking to see if they could trump up some kind of criminal charges against her so as to shut her up.
One of my contacts at The Countess of Chester Hospital, who wishes to remain anonymous, for fear of reprisals, provides the following account:- Lucy Letby got into an argument with one of the consultants, accusing him of rarely being on the ward, and “not doing his job properly”. When Lucy Letby walked away from the encounter, the doctor was heard to mutter “That f - (expletive deleted) – ing c – (expletive deleted)”. My contact told me that the hospital operated on a “power structure”, with consultants behaving as if they were (in her words) “god-like”. Any challenge to their “god-like” authority was met with veiled threats of termination (ie:- of the nurse’s job), or an insinuation that their continued employment was dependent on “good” reports from the consultants.
Lucy Letby was a “whistle blower”, and she has paid the ultimate price for this!
It is well known that The NHS in Great Britain has a very bad record of targeting and punishing whistle blowers. If you don’t believe this, here are some quotes from my book The Dishonesty of Science (subtitle:- Why We Should Distrust Everything That Scientists Tell Us) – (Alternatively, you can see the same quotes on the following web page:-
www.dishonestyofscience.com/punishments
This quote is from Private Eye (magazine), number 1417, April 29th to May 12th, 2016, page 17. Article entitled “Medicine Balls”:-
“More than a year after Sir Francis’ report into how NHS whistle-blowers are treated, there has been no meaningful change. Not a single sacked whistle-blower has been found comparable re-employment.”
The following quote is from The Spectator (magazine) August 8th, 2015, pages 18 to 19, Article:- The GP’s Revenge, by J. Meirion Thomas:-
The article explains how the author (a surgeon at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London) drew attention to failings in the NHS, and because of this The Royal Marsden Hospital effectively sacked him, telling him that “My offence was unforgiveable and deserving of a clean break” - - - “ Earlier this year, Robert Francis Q.C. published his “Freedom To Speak Up” review, which concluded that there was a culture within - - - the NHS which deters staff from raising - - - concerns - - - I heard shocking accounts of the way some people were treated when they have been brave enough to speak up - - - In a recent editorial in The British Medical Journal, Doctor Kim Holt called for a public enquiry to tackle - - - BULLYING, INTIMIDATION, AND REPRISALS IN THE NHS.” (My capitals.)
The next quote is from The (London) Evening Standard, June 21st, 2018, pages 1 and 4. Article:- Police To Probe “Doctor Opiate” Scandal”:-
“Sir Brian Jarman, Emeritus Professor at Imperial College, London - - - believes whistle-blowers are still RELUCTANT TO EXPOSE MALPRACTICE BECAUSE OF THE RISK OF BEING “FIRED, GAGGED, OR BLACKLISTED”. (My capitals.)
The next quote is from The (London) Evening Standard September 10th, 2018, page 2. Article:- Crisis-hit St. Georges Axes Complex Heart Surgery:-
“Two surgeons were excluded - - - - Professor Marjan Jahangin had her exclusion overturned - - - - Her lawyer told the court she had been TARGETED BECAUSE SHE BLEW THE WHISTLE ON UNSAFE CARE.” (My capitals.)
Here is a quote from the book Trust Me, I’m a Doctor, by Doctor Phil Hammond and Michael Mosley, published by Metro Books, 1999, page 65:- “The tragedy of Bristol (high mortality in this hospital) reinforces how SECRETIVE, POWERFUL, AND UNACCOUNTABLE DOCTORS ARE. But Bristol is only the tip of the iceberg.” (My capitals.)
Here is a related quote from The Sunday Times, June 4th, 2018 (pages 6 to 7). Article – Cheap, Faulty, and Pumping Straight into The Vein:- “(Doctor) Jane Barton - - - was responsible for the deaths of at least 456 - - - elderly patients - - - She administered fatal doses of (painkiller) Diamorphine - - - In more than half the cases - - - her patients were not - - - having suffered any kind of pain - - - “a culture of shortening lives” of - - patients - - - THE GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL - - - WERE GUILTY OF CLOSING RANKS AND OF OBFUSCATION - - - atrocities at Gosport (Hospital) - - - - NURSES RAISED CONCERNS - - - ABOUT THE PRESCRIBING OF DIAMORPHINE. THE HEAT WAS TURNED ON THESE NURSES, WITH THE EFFECT THAT THEY WERE SILENCED.” (My capitals.) (My comment:- This was in Gosport in England, in 2017 – not in Auschwitz under Doctor Mengele!)
The following quotes are from Private Eye (magazine) Number 1643, February 21st to March 6th, page 16:- Max McLean - - is taking the Bradford Teaching Hospitals Trust to an employment tribunal after claiming unfair dismissal for raising concerns about baby deaths.
and on the same page:- More than 200 cases of serious harm or death at Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton. Two senior surgeons raised safety concerns, and then were dismissed - - - - (they) are bringing employment tribunal claims.
Here is a quote from The (London) Metro March 11th, 2025, page 8:- Franco Villani was targeted by managers after raising health and safety issues. His bosses called him a “wasp that needs swatting”. The tribunal found that he was deliberately targeted. He was awarded £10,000. York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation apologised to Mr Villani. (My comment:- The Countess of Chester Hospital successfully “swatted” Lucy Letby for her “whistle-blower” activities.)
Now for some comments from the book Suffer The Little Children: The Lucy Letby Case revisited, by Dr David Holding (who has a Master of Law degree in Medical Law):-
Pages 98 to 99:- the report led by Geoffrey Howe (former Chancellor of The Exchequer) mentioned “the odious and alarming targeting of whistle-blowers”. The Francis Enquiry into various Staffordshire hospitals mentioned “a culture of fear in which staff did not feel able to report concerns”. A report into The Shrewsbury Maternity Scandal stated:- “a culture of fear that left staff scared to speak out for risk of victimisation”. The book mentions a doctor who was “driven out of the country” as reprisal for whistle-blowing, having to move to Australia. (My comment:- Doctors do not like to be criticised. They stick together, uniting against the common enemy, and are ready to initiate “reprisals” against critics.) On page 91 of the book, Sir Robert Francis (barrister, King’s Counsel, and president of The Patient’s Association) is quoted:- “When I started working in medical negligence - - - - no doctor would give evidence against another.”
(My comment:- The first “reprisal” that the consultants perpetrated against Lucy Letby was to have her removed from the ward to “administrative duties”. She immediately (and defiantly) raised a “grievance”. (The NHS has a grievance procedure that can be invoked by employees.))
Still quoting from the above book (page 18):- The consultants claimed to the hospital management that Lucy Letby might have harmed patients. The hospital management investigated these claims, and decided that there was no foundation for the claims. Lucy Letby then raised a grievance, but also insisted on receiving an apology from the consultants, INDICATING THAT SHE WAS PREPARED TO MAKE A COMPLAINT AGAINST THEM TO THE GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL. It was THEN that the consultants went to the police. (My comment:- Revenge is sweet!)
My comment:- The consultants were reprimanded by the management, and ordered to apologize to Lucy Letby. They had to eat humble pie, and they did not like it one bit! From that point, the knives were out! They were determined to get rid of her by whatever means necessary. The consultants drew up a list of infant deaths, and a list of dates when Lucy Letby was on duty. The deaths that occurred when she was on duty were labelled (by the consultants) “suspicious”, and the deaths that occurred when she was NOT on duty were labelled (by the consultants) “NOT suspicious”. With this list of “suspicious” deaths, they then went to the police. The police took the testimony of the consultants as “gospel”. After all – why would doctors lie!??
In fact, the consultants were indeed willing to BLATANTLY lie! One of the “suspicious” deaths (Baby O) involved a baby accidentally killed by one of the consultants who accused Lucy Letby. The baby had a distended abdomen, so the doctor stuck in a needle to suck out gas from the abdomen, He miscalculated, and hit the liver, lacerating the liver. He then went into court accusing Lucy Letby of murdering this baby, even although it was himself that had killed the baby. This doctor testified in the court to the effect that this specific “suspicious” death was one of the Lucy Letby “suspicious” deaths, occurring when SHE was on the ward. This is PERJURY, and the doctor concerned should serve prison time for this! The hypothesis put forward by Dr Dewi Evans was that Lucy Letby injected air into the baby. Richard Taylor neonatologist from Canada stated that the notion that Letby injected air into the baby and killed it was “nonsense”. To verify the above details regarding Baby O, go to the following web page
LUCY LETBY: Framed By Killer Doctor Who Accused Her - PROOF!!!
According to Carl in the UK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfusTCVCxA4
Also, to verify that Lucy Letby raised a grievance, go to this u-tube web page:-
Lucy Letby - Why Aren't They Talking about These Things?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bcFmPFxSmQ
Here is further evidence that the consultants deliberately lied in order to “frame” Lucy Letby. This information comes from Wikipedia: Brearey and Jayaram (paediatricians at Countess of Chester Hospital) told Cheshire Constabulary that infant collapses are "nearly always explainable". In May 2024, staff writer Rachel Aviv in an article for The New Yorker reported that a study of infant deaths in southeast London, published in the 'Journal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine', found that about half of unexpected infant collapses remain unexplained after an autopsy. (My comment:- This is a reference to the article in The New Yorker (issue for May 20th, 2024) by Rachel Aviv, entitled – A Reporter at Large – Conviction.
Here is still further evidence that the consultants deliberately lied in the court. Dr Jayaram alleged that he caught Lucy Letby “in the act” of harming a baby. He alleged that the baby’s breathing tube was dislodged, and he purported that this could only happen if it was dislodged deliberately, and that she was just standing there alone with the baby, and doing nothing about it. Inexplicably, he did not report this incident for several months. Furthermore, she was with another nurse in the room at the time – door entry data shows this. In that case, his account has to be incorrect – either a deliberate lie to incriminate Lucy Letby – or (to be charitable) an honest mistake on his part (No! I don’t think so!). To verify the facts regarding Dr Jayaram’s accusation, go to the previously quoted web page (A Liberated Mind):- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bcFmPFxSmQ
Furthermore, The neonatologist, Doctor Richard Taylor has stated that breathing tubes can get very easily dislodged in pre-term infants. Dr Jayaram must have known this, but he purported to the jury that dislodgement was a very rare occurrence, and could only be deliberate. To verify Doctor Richard Taylor’s statement, go to the following U-Tube video:-
Lucy Letby: What The Jury Didn't Know
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqe4dEuK128
LUCY LETBY TARGETED AS A FEMINIST.
There was yet a further reason why Lucy Letby was targeted and scapegoated. One of my informants (who insists on anonymity for fear of reprisals) explained to me that the hospital had a culture of “male chauvinism”, and “sexual” banter that some of the nurses found offensive. One of the male doctors would say something like “Wow, is she stacked – or what??!!” – or a similar disrespectful remark. When such remarks were uttered in Lucy Letby’s presence, she would always say exactly the same thing. She would look straight at the perpetrator and just say, in a quiet voice, “Not cool!”. The male chauvinists in the hospital did not apparently like this subtle reprimand.
In case you don’t believe this above account, here is a quote from my book The Dishonesty of Science, by Roger Elliott (page 103) (also available on the website www.dishonestyofscience.com).
This quote is from New Statesman (magazine), 26th October to 1st November, 2018, page 60. Article:- Health Matters, by Doctor Nishat Siddiqi “I was - - - saddened - - - to hear that EVERY FEMALE DOCTOR I KNOW - - - HAD EXPERIENCED SEXUAL HARRASSMENT OR ABUSE - - - NINETEEN DOCTORS WERE STRUCK OFF - - - FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT OR RAPE - - - between 2014 and 2017. - - - Not one woman who told me about it had any intention of reporting it, FEARING REPERCUSSIONS (My capitals.)
Here are some further quotes to emphasise the extreme hostility that feminist women who are willing to “stick up for themselves” encounter.
These following quotes are from the article Rising Above The Mob, by Robert Jessel (being a review of the book Hounded: Women, Harms and the Gender Wars, by Jenny Lindsay) in The Critic (magazine) for October 2024, page 67:- “Ubiquity of vicious, highly-organised attacks on women by gender activists - - - Lindsay - - - has previously written about her own “hounding”, which began after she criticised activists who advocated violence against lesbians - - - - the same modus operandi is deployed against countless women - - - who dare to speak about their rights. As a catalogue of - - - abuse women face - - - - analysis of why activists attack women so mercilessly - - - - women who speak up must be silenced immediately and with extreme prejudice - - - the consequences of speaking up - - - employers pressured to fire “heretical” staff.”
These following quotes are from the article “Consent isn’t everything”, by Helen Joyce in The Critic (magazine) for November 2024, page 6:- “Until recently it was standard for trainee doctors to practise internal exams on oblivious women under general anaesthetic. - - - - - It’s only in the past decade that the legal system has started to take unnoticed intrusions on women’s privacy seriously. Upskirting - - - became a criminal offence in the UK only in 2019.”
The following quote is from The (London) Metro, March 5th, 2025, page 13:- Almost two thirds of adults - - - feel (that) misogyny is a problem in the UK, a poll suggests. - - - - Just over three in ten think it is serious. 31 percent of women have challenged misogyny - - at a time when women’s - - - rights are being challenged.
This quote is from The (London) Metro, March 10th, 2025, page 2:- Ipso UK found one in four of us knows a female victim of violence.
This quote is from The (London) Metro, March 7th, 2025, page 1:- Around 100 women are killed by men every year (in The UK).
So there you have it. Lucy Letby is now serving a life sentence in prison as a reprisal for WHISTLE-BLOWING, and for FEMINISM!
Now, to further substantiate Lucy Letby’s role as “whistle-blower”, here are some quotes from the book:- Lucy is Innocent – A Miscarriage of Justice Analysed and Corrected, by Paul Bamford, SECOND EDITION, Printed by Amazon (I strongly recommend this book!)
Page 27:- A toxic atmosphere of bullying in the hospital”.
Page 35:- Mention of “Ms Letby’s possible whistleblowing role”.
Page 36:- “Whistleblowing activities - - - possible object of reprisals from the consultants.” (My comment:- YES – ABSOLUTELY!!!!))
Page 78:- A Royal College report (2016) comments on “A breakdown of communications between senior doctors and nursing staff on the unit.” (My comment:- The Jury did not get to hear about this!)
Page 84:- “Only two scheduled consultant ward rounds per week, thus failing to meet - - - - staffing guidelines.” (My comment:- Lucy Letby complained about this on many occasions!)
Page 89:- A culture (in the hospital) described as “toxic” – hard feelings might have - - - influence - - - in the drive to call in the police”. (My comment:- YES ABSOLUTELY!!!!!)
Page 89:- By her own admission, Ms Letby was not averse to calling out failings - - - For the ten or so COMPLAINTS she is said to have registered over the year, she might well have attained whistle-blower status in the eyes of the consultants (My capitals.) (My comment:- She registered far more than TEN complaints; and yes, she did “attain whistle-blower status”!)
Page 89:- In the trial, the judge mentions a Datix (report of an incident risky to patients), which could prompt a management review – supposedly submitted by Lucy. (My comment:- There were a lot more than ONE of these reports!)
Page 89 to 90:- The author mentions The Bristol Heart Scandal of the 1990s. Thirty dead babies - - - poor medical skills and management - - -The whistle-blower could never get work in The NHS again.
Page 89 to 90:- The Ombudsman castigated the victimisation of whistle-blowers.
Page 181:- Three breaches of regulations - - - Ms Letby - - - - raised it with her senior nurse, and had taken assurances that the issue would (be) dealt with - - - Doctors Gibbs and Harkness had both apologised to her for leaving the baby under these circumstances.” (My comment:- These two doctors must have been absolutely seething with rage, after having to make an apology in this manner. The malice engendered eventually prompted them to make accusations against Lucy Letby.)
Pages 273 to 274:- Lucy took home 257 medical documents. The official guidelines for whistle-blowers advocate securing documents to support allegations. (My comment:- The Crown Prosecution Service purported that these medical documents were “trophies” of the type that a serial killer might collect, although only a very small fraction pertained to babies that she was accused of harming. The prosecution was very clever in interpreting the facts so as to support their own agenda!)
Page 341:- Professor Kendrick (an accredited authority on neonatal pathophysiology, who had a background in academia, and who had worked full-time as a specialist in neonatal, paediatric, and adult anaesthesiology – see page 42 of the book) states as follows:- Lucy Letby was removed from the ward “because she was being too vocal” (regarding the sewage in the sinks, which posed an infection risk to the babies).
Page 398:- “A possible reprisal towards Ms Letby as a result of a certain whistle-blower status”.
Page 435:- “She’d been at loggerheads - - - with one locum over - - - non-observance of unit guidelines. She’d been outraged - - - - for the child collapsed on a side-less trolley - - - unattached to a monitor.”
The following quote is from the article in The New Yorker (issue for May 20th, 2024) by Rachel Aviv, entitled – A Reporter at Large – Conviction.
“She’d developed an infection - - - due to negligence by a member of staff” Letby explained. “We made a complaint, but it was brushed under the carpet.”
ANOTHER “WHISTLE-BLOWER” NURSE CONVICTED OF MURDER.
There is another nurse who was a “whistle-blower, and who was similarly “punished” for this by accusations of murdering patients. This nurse, Ben Geen, is now in prison, with a long sentence. Once again, a victim of a “witch-hunt”.
The following quote, regarding Ben Geen’s “whistle-blowing” is from the following U-Tube video
Dr Richard Gill and According to Carl discuss similarities between Lucy Letby and Ben Geen cases.
According to Carl in The UK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7cHtiNtgOA
Dr Gill states that Ben Geen worked very long hours, as did Lucy Letby. Ben Geen was a whistleblower! He complained a lot (not enough staff etc.)
The following information regarding Ben Geen is taken from the following web page:-
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/feb/15/statisticians-respiratory-arrests-trial-ben-geen
Statisticians question evidence used to convict nurse of murdering patients
Experts concerned that ‘extreme rarity’ of respiratory arrests, claimed by witnesses at 2006 trial of Ben Geen, was made without required analysis
Hannah Devlin Sun 15 Feb 2015 17.34 GMT
Four eminent statisticians have raised concerns about the quality of evidence used to convict a nurse of murdering two patients and poisoning 15 others. Ben Geen, 34, is serving a 30-year sentence after being convicted in 2006 of injecting patients with a variety of drugs.
There were no witnesses to the crimes, but Horton General hospital in Banbury identified an “unusual pattern” of respiratory arrests, which the prosecution said could only be explained by a member of staff deliberately harming patients.
Now Sir David Spiegelhalter, of the University of Cambridge, has voiced concerns that the “extreme rarity” of respiratory arrests, claimed by expert witnesses at trial, was made without the methodical evidence-gathering and detailed analysis required. “I do feel that the statistical evidence in this case was not handled properly,” he said.
The defence contends that the deaths and respiratory arrests can be explained by natural causes and that Geen was the victim of a “witch-hunt” by hospital management. Geen says he took the syringe home accidentally following a busy A&E shift.
In his analysis, Fenton, of Queen Mary University of London, concludes that, though 18 respiratory arrests in a two-month period is high, at least one hospital in the country would be expected to see this many events over a four-year period, purely by chance. “It didn’t seem a particularly unusual sequence of events,” he said. “If that was the starting point for the inquiry then that’s problematic.”
Senn, a medical statistician at the Luxemburg Institute of Health, said the evidence-gathering appears to have been potentially biased. “It’s almost as though the evidence was being collected to convict Ben Geen rather than being collected to assess the chances of guilt,” he said.
Now here is a quote from Private Eye Special Report. The Lessons of The Lucy Letby Case, by Doctor Phil Hammond. MD. (available online.)
Private Eye Report, Part 7:- Eirian Powell, Lucy Letby’s neonatal ward manager, stated that she felt that a few of the consultants on the unit were “difficult to work with”, and would blame nurses when things went wrong.
The following quotes are from the article in The New Yorker (issue for May 20th, 2024) by Rachel Aviv, entitled – A Reporter at Large – Conviction.
Page 41:- The hospital acknowledges that a review had revealed problems with “staffing - - - team working and culture”.
Page 38:- The following text was sent by Lucy Letby:- “Just can’t believe that some people - - - - didn’t know what equipment to use, and not being supported by a manager.” (My comment:- This kind of comment was typical of Lucy Letby, which gave her the reputation of being a “whistle-blower”.)
So there we have it. The NHS is really “hard” on “whistle-blowers”. Many people have been victimised, and two people have been jailed for this “offence”.
The other question is – did the consultants Doctor Brearey and Doctor Jayaram deliberately lie in order to “scapegoat” Lucy Letby? In my opinion, yes, they did deliberately lie, from malicious motives. This opinion is shared by at least one doctor. See the quote below, from a U-Tube video:-
Was The Lucy Letby Trial Judge Incompetent?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRudI8fwNi0
At The Thirwall Enquiry, Doctor Chris Greene comments on the accusations made by Doctors Brearey and Jayaram against Lucy Letby. “I was disgusted by their behaviour. It is likely that they lied.”
A further quote from this enquiry:- I said to Stephen Brearey “What if Lucy Letby goes home and kills herself” - - - and he replied “I don’t care.” (My comment:- Does this indicate malice – or what?!)
Here is a comment to a U-Tube video, with no corrections for grammar or spelling.
Really good piece from you both. Dr Hammond hit the nail on the head with his last comment that it is not the doctors that were whistle blowers, but in fact Lucy. The fact Lucy as a mere band 5 nurse was regularly filling out datix risk reports highlighting failures by the doctors, would most definitely have made her an enemy to those doctors, and they were determined to get her removed from that unit at all cost.