A married consultant described as the ‘boyfriend’ of baby killer nurse Lucy Letby is being investigated over details shared with her about a child she tried to kill.
The pair exchanged more than 1,300 flirtatious messages in three months while they worked together at Countess of Chester Hospital – also going on walks, meals and taking day trips to London.
Convicted serial killer Letby, 35, is serving life behind bars for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven more between June 2015 and June 2016.
Although they denied having an affair, the prosecution at her trial described the unnamed medical professional as the serial killer’s ‘boyfriend’.
A note with the doctor’s name was also found by police in Letby’s home, with love heart sketches scrawled across it.
The document read: ‘I loved you and I think you knew that … I wanted you to stand by me but you didn’t.’
The consultant, who cannot be named after being granted anonymity during Letby’s trial, was also on duty in June 2016 when she killed two triplets and allegedly tried to hurt a third child over the course of three nights.
Now it has been revealed a mother of one of the children she tried to murder has alleged the unnamed doctor breached patient confidentiality by sharing information about her child with Letby.
Former neonatal nurse Lucy Letby continues to insist she is innocent of the crimes
Letby is currently serving life behind bars after she was found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven more between June 2015 and June 2016
Last year, during a public inquiry into Letby’s case, the doctor acknowledged he continued to support the killer nurse in her administrative role, amid concerns about death rates of babies on the hospital’s neonatal ward.
He messaged Letby in September 2016, telling her she was ‘still the best neonatal nurse’ he had ‘ever worked with’.
He has since said he was not aware of suspicions his colleagues had about Letby.
Around three months later, he requested his hospital bosses allow the killer nurse to visit his workplace while supervised by him – which included observing babies’ operations and being at outpatient clinics.
He claimed to have been ‘misled’ and perhaps ‘manipulated’ by the nurse who convinced him share confidential emails concerning babies he later discovered she had harmed.
The hospital started an inquiry after a complaint from the mother of ‘Baby N’ – a child Letby was convicted of attempting to murder in June 2016.
The inquiry was parked after the mother of ‘Baby N’, who Letby was found guilty of attempting to murder in June 2016, lodged a complaint about the doctor, alleging he breached patient privacy several times.
This included discussing the child with Letby via email, Facebook and other platforms, as well as after the nurse had attacked the child.
The Countess of Chester Hospital where Lucy Letby worked as a neonatal nurse
The mother has now told the Times: ‘There was no legal basis for him for breaching confidentiality.
‘He also shared confidential emails which were meant to be between consultants only, with her.’
The inquiry into the Letby case previously heard how the nurse contacted the consultant, querying if anything was awry with the child involved.
The consultant replied: ‘Oh Lucy, poor little thing. I am sure he has had the best care possible and you will have done everything you could for him.’
Hospital chiefs last year informed the doctor there would be a probe into his actions, decision making and facts around the incident at the time.
It would also detail Letby’s participation in Baby N’s care, as well as her access to the child’s records and communications shared with the killer after the child was transferred from the Countess of Chester hospital.
The investigation was disclosed last Thursday during a High Court ruling in which the consultant argued the hospital had breached his employment contract due to how inquiries were being carried out.
Mr Justice Sheldon concluded the probe should be led by the hospital’s chief medical officer, rather than a more junior member of staff. The hospital trust has been given time to weigh up a possible appeal.
Lucy Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven more following a trial at Manchester Crown Court
Letby spent 14 days giving evidence in the witness box at Manchester Crown Court
Letby last year lost two appeal attempts to challenge her convictions, and now they are being assessed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission – a body which probes potential miscarriages of justice.
The former neonatal nurse continues to insist she is innocent.
Last month, It was announced that three former bosses at the hospital where Letby murdered babies have been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
The senior executives, who worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital during the neo-natal nurse’s killing spree, were quizzed by detectives after being invited to attend separate police stations across Cheshire.
They have since been bailed pending further enquiries.
Their arrests form part of Cheshire Constabulary’s ongoing inquiry into corporate manslaughter at the NHS Trust, where Letby murdered seven premature infants and harmed seven more between June 2015 and June 2016.
