No criminal charges against Lucy Letby in relation to further allegations of deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies
Frank Ferguson, Head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: “We received a file of evidence from Cheshire Constabulary in July 2025 asking us to consider further allegations against Lucy Letby, 36, relating to deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
“Following a thorough review of that evidence, we have decided that no criminal charges should be brought in respect of those further allegations.
“The Crown Prosecution Service considered offences of murder and attempted murder in respect of two infants who died and attempted murder in respect of seven infants who survived.
“We concluded that the evidential test was not met in any of those cases.
“As always, this decision was made independently, based on the evidence and in line with our legal test.
“The CPS has written to the families involved and will offer meetings to explain our decision-making in further detail. Our thoughts remain with them.”
Notes to editors
- 11 charges were considered in relation to a total of nine babies with both murder and attempted murder considered in respect of two infants.
- Of those 11 charges considered, eight offences of attempted murder and one offence of murder related to the Countess of Chester Hospital while one offence of attempted murder and one offence of murder (one infant) related to Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
- The function of the CPS is not to decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence, but to make fair, independent and objective assessments about whether it is appropriate to present charges for a criminal court to consider. In this case we applied the law according to our legal test using the evidence.
- We will not be taking part in any interviews regarding this decision.
- This decision is subject to the Victim’s Right to Review (VRR) scheme which provides a victim or their families in some classes of case with a specifically designed process to exercise the right to review certain CPS decisions not to start a prosecution or to stop a prosecution.
- Under the VRR scheme if a new decision is reached, it may be appropriate to institute or reinstitute criminal proceedings.
- The right to request a review of a decision not to prosecute under the VRR scheme applies to Full Code Test decisions that have been made by a Crown Prosecutor, regardless of their grade or position in the organisation.
- It is important to note that the “right” referred to in the context of the VRR scheme is the right to request a review of a final decision. It is not a guarantee that proceedings will be instituted or reinstituted.
- Following a review under the scheme, qualifying decisions not to charge, to discontinue or to withdraw can be instituted or reinstituted, subject to any statutory time limits.
- There are two possible review outcomes:
1. A New Decision: when the earlier decision is overturned
2. Uphold Previous Decision: the original decision not to prosecute is upheld, and the victim notified and provided with an explanation.