Channel 5 documentary questions Lucy Letby conviction and asks if she was a scapegoat

A new documentary, Lucy Letby Scapegoat, examines the conviction of the former neonatal nurse and asks whether she was made a scapegoat for deaths at the Countess of Chester Hospital. Lucy Letby is serving 15 whole life prison terms for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of seven more.

The programme is the idea of Rob Pattinson, investigations editor at The Sun. In an interview before broadcast, he said he began the project convinced that Letby was guilty. "We set out to prove that she had killed these babies," he said. He added that doubts began to emerge as the team looked into the case.

Pattinson said the documentary paints a picture of a unit in crisis. He cited too many babies, too many unwell babies, poor physical conditions, and not enough staff, nurses or qualified physicians. He said the findings came from a whistleblower, a consultant doctor who worked inside the hospital at the time, and that everything said in the documentary was supported by a paper trail. He rejected the suggestion that the programme was speculation.

The interview also covered staffing evidence from the Thirlwall Inquiry. Pattinson accepted that the inquiry found the unit was 21% understaffed, while the average for the area was 27% understaffed. He argued that the unit was still facing a difficult situation when all the pressures were considered together.

Asked how the documentary addresses the jury's guilty verdict, Pattinson said not all the evidence was put before the court. He said the jury and judge acted appropriately and reached the right verdict on what they heard, but he claimed that "bits" were missing. The documentary also examines Letby's handwritten notes, which many have treated as a confession. Pattinson said he initially saw them that way too, but a confession expert told him they were not a confession because the notes also contained claims that she had been set up, slandered and singled out. The notes were written while she was receiving counselling and had been told to record all her thoughts, he said.

The interview noted that the inquiry found Letby had falsified medical records and told colleagues fictitious accounts. Pattinson said those matters were suspicious, but argued that a seven-million-pound investigation into any person would uncover elements of suspicion. He said the case had not established how the babies died or whether they were killed, and that no one had seen Letby do anything. He added that the documentary team had written to the families to explain what they found.

The programme was due to be shown tonight at 10.