Topic Lifecycle: Dormant
This topic is currently dormant in the news cycle. It was last covered on Monday 21 September 2026 and has not appeared in recent broadcasts.
Coverage trend (last 30 days)
How much coverage this topic got from each channel over the past month.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Recent stories
The latest story timelines linked to this topic, newest activity first.
What was reported
A plain summary of this topic, built from the channels that covered it.
On the day of the broadcasts, BBC News and Sky News reported that the final report of the Thirlwall inquiry into the circumstances of Lucy Letby's crimes was due to be published. The inquiry examined how Letby, a former neonatal nurse at the Countess of Chester Hospital, was able to murder and harm babies while employed there. Both channels noted that the inquiry was not tasked with reviewing Letby's guilt, as she had been convicted. Letby is serving 15 whole life sentences for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others. The coverage also referred to a campaign questioning her convictions, with Sky News mentioning a review by the Criminal Cases Review Commission and BBC News citing medical experts who have questioned the evidence. Sky News provided a detailed timeline of the police investigation and trials, while BBC News included comments from a lawyer representing the families who said senior managers were responsible for failing to involve police earlier. Sky News also reported that Cheshire Police are investigating potential corporate manslaughter and that the inquiry's report had been delayed several times.
Key Claims by Channel
| Claim | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reported by a few · 2–5 channels | |||||||
| The Thirlwall inquiry published its findings today. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News | |
| Lucy Letby is serving 15 whole life orders for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | ||
| The Thirlwall inquiry examined events at Countess of Chester Hospital between 2015 and 2016. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News | |
| The Thirlwall inquiry was not tasked with examining Lucy Letby's guilt. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | ||
| A campaign questioning Lucy Letby's guilt has been ongoing. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
| Senior doctors had concerns about Letby, and it took months for her to be removed from duty and almost a year before police were called. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
| The inquiry report is expected to conclude that there were widespread failings in safeguarding at the Countess of Chester Hospital. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC News | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by Sky News | |||
| The report found that some babies' deaths could have been avoided if action had been taken sooner. | Reported by BBC News | Reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by Sky News | |||
| The report made 17 recommendations for all NHS neonatal units. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC News | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by Sky News | ||
| Only on one channel | |||||||
| The Thirlwall inquiry report had been delayed several times. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
| Cheshire Police are investigating possible corporate manslaughter or gross negligence manslaughter. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | |
| The Criminal Cases Review Commission is looking at Letby's case. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
| A group of medical experts have questioned the evidence in Letby's case. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| The inquiry's hearings concluded in March of the previous year. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| The inquiry was launched by the government. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| The inquiry examined whether action could have been taken sooner and whether some babies might have lived or avoided injury. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| The NHS has no wide protocol for dealing with suspected deliberate harm by a member of staff. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| The report found that hospital bosses tried to control the narrative and removed evidence that counted against them. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| The hospital's failure to call police sooner was described as indefensible. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by GB News | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| The Health Secretary apologised for the failures. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
This is a cross-channel consensus summary, not an objective account. Consensus can be uniformly wrong, or omit what only one channel covered.
Timeline
Where this topic appeared. Cells show coverage time and are darker when there was more coverage.
| Date | Channel 5 | BBC News | BBC One | BBC Two | Channel 4 | GB News | ITV | Sky News |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday 21 September 2026 | 5m 13s 14.0% | — | — | — | — | 3m 30s 4.6% | — | — |
| Wednesday 16 September 2026 | — | — | 3m 6s 3.1% | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tuesday 15 September 2026 | 5m 24s 14.9% | 31m 35s 27.5% | 30m 23s 28.4% | — | 25s 0.8% | 11m 51s 16.7% | 18m 26s 29.4% | 17m 20s 17.7% |
| Monday 14 September 2026 | — | — | — | 8m 30s 11.7% | — | — | — | — |
| Wednesday 2 September 2026 | — | — | 4m 52s 5.5% | — | — | — | 42s 0.9% | — |
| Friday 14 August 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | 6m 14s 11.4% | — | — |






