Lucy Letby's boss reveals killer's surprising reaction to being removed from hospital

Lucy Letby's former senior manager has shared how the child killer nurse responded when she was asked to leave work following concerns raised by two consultants.

The infamous inmate had been employed at the Countess of Chester Hospital's neonatal unit since 2012. However, between April 2015 and June 2016, a shocking 18 infant deaths were recorded there. Consultants Ravi Jayaram and Stephen Brearey both voiced their suspicions about Letby, leading to her manager, Karen Rees, head of urgent care nursing at the NHS hospital, having to intervene.

In an ITV documentary titled Lucy Letby: Beyond Reasonable Doubt?, Karen spoke on camera for the first time, revealing that Dr Brearey had contacted her with his concerns.

She recalled: "I came home and I received a call from Stephen Brearey. He was aware that Lucy Letby was on duty that weekend. He did actually tell me another baby had died.

"There were concerns about her clinical practice but it was greater than that. I think the word 'purposely harming babies' was the term used at the time. It was a massive allegation and at the end of the day there are babies on that unit that we all have a responsibility to care for."

However, in early July 2016, Letby went on holiday, and upon her return, it fell to Karen to remove her from the hospital.

Discussing the nurse's reaction, she disclosed: "I was told just to say that concerns had been raised and that this was seen as a neutral act. So she wasn't being accused of anything at this point. But it was deemed safer to take her off clinical practice to protect herself as well as the babies on that neonatal unit.

"She wasn't even questioning me, she was just looking at me, I had to then walk her across the hospital grounds and I was the only one making conversation. She wasn't asking me why, she wasn't crying, she was just shocked."

After Letby was removed from her clinical duties, Karen was instructed to meet with her weekly to provide updates on both internal and external investigations.

Alongside the head of occupational health and a union representative, it was also Karen's responsibility to monitor Letby's health and wellbeing.

Letby was reassigned to a desk job and instructed not to interact with colleagues - making Karen one of the few people to have significant contact with her.

Offering a rare glimpse into these meetings, she revealed: "She thought she had a good working relationship with both of those consultants and she was devastated that they thought what they thought. Absolutely devastated.

"She was broken... cried regularly in my arms and in my office. Her mantra was, 'Why are they doing this to me - I've done nothing wrong Karen'."

Letby was first arrested in 2018 under suspicion of murdering several infants. She was subsequently found guilty in two separate trials for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of seven others.

Last year, she failed twice to challenge her convictions at the Court of Appeals.

Her legal team, led by barrister Mark McDonald, presented evidence from a group of international experts to the Criminal Cases Review Commission in April, in an effort to overturn her convictions.

The Thirlwall inquiry, which is investigating events at the Countess of Chester Hospital, is set to release its findings this autumn. However, this inquiry will not be examining Letby's guilt or innocence.

Three senior managers at the hospital were arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in June this year and have since been released on police bail.

In the documentary, Karen spoke about whether she believed Letby, who is serving 15 whole-life sentences, was innocent. She said: "I do remember Lucy saying to me, 'Karen, you are the only person who hasn't asked me have I purposely harmed anybody.'

"And I remember her looking at me and the reason why I've never asked her is that I never thought she had... no... I just don't believe it."

Lucy Letby: Beyond Reasonable Doubt? will air on ITV1 at 10.20pm on Sunday August 3.