An expert witness has dismissed criticisms of his evidence by Lucy Letby’s lawyers as ‘unsubstantiated, unfounded, inaccurate’.
This comes after Letby’s legal team revealed they will be asking the Court of Appeal to immediately review all of her convictions.
In a press conference on Monday, Letby’s lawyer Mark McDonald claimed that expert witness Dr Dewi Evans had ‘changed his mind’ about how three babies died at the Countess of Chester Hospital between 2015 and 2016.
Mr McDonald also claimed that Dr Evans had ‘revised his opinion’ in relation to another baby and that he had ‘written a new report’ which had not yet been given to the defence.
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In statement released today, Dr Evans said he had not received any formal notification of the announcement and had not received any correspondence from Mr McDonald or his team.
Dr Evans added: ‘Mark McDonald’s observations regarding my evidence is unsubstantiated, unfounded, inaccurate.
‘His method of presenting his information reflects clear prejudice and bias.
‘I find his style most unedifying, most unprofessional. It’s highly disrespectful to the families of babies murdered and harmed by Lucy Letby.’
The former neonatal nurse is currently serving a whole-life term in prison for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of seven others while working in the Countess of Chester Hospital.
In his statement, seen by Nursing in Practice, Dr Evans said: ‘The only place appropriate to deal with any potential appeal is the relevant court.
‘If required I would be pleased to give evidence in the usual way; on oath, subject to cross examination, and where my evidence is placed in the public domain.
‘I would expect any other participant to agree to the same principles.’
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Dr Evans said he was ‘mindful’ of the ongoing Thirwall Inquiry examining the events and implications of Letby’s actions at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
‘I believe we owe her the courtesy and respect to complete the hearing and publish her report without the distraction of “noises off”,’ he added.
He also acknowledged the ongoing investigation by Cheshire Police into ‘further suspicious events’ at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
Dr Evans made clear that he was not involved in the investigation, but said this should be completed ‘without any distractions’.
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Responding to Dr Evans criticisms Mr McDonald said: ‘Dr Evans has written a new report on Baby C, 12 months after Lucy Letby was convicted, please can this be fully disclosed to the defence by the prosecution.
‘This issue of reliability of any prosecution medical expert is now a matter for the Court of Appeal and Criminal Cases Review Commissions but certainly the disclosure of this new report may help them in deciding this question.’
On Monday, Mr McDonald said the defence was taking the ‘exceptional but necessary decision’ to apply to reopen the appeal of Letby amid concerns around Dr Evans’ evidence.
