Dr John Gibbs worked at the same hospital as Lucy Letby when the murders took place. In a new Netflix documentary, he admits there is one question that lingers in his mind.
Letby was a neonatal nurse at the Countess of Chester Hospital. In 2023, she was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of seven others between 2015 and 2016.
It remains one of the most notorious cases in modern British criminal history. While a jury found Letby guilty after a 10-month trial, the conviction has since been scrutinised by a number of experts, including lawyer Mark McDonald and retired neonatologist Dr Shoo Lee, whose research was relied upon by the prosecution.
Dr Gibbs, a retired consultant paediatrician, appears in Netflix’s The Investigation of Lucy Letby. He does not believe there has been a miscarriage of justice — but he admits that doubt, however small, still lingers.
Doctor says he lives with “two guilts” after Lucy Letby conviction
Towards the end of the documentary, Gibbs addresses accusations made against him and other senior doctors following Letby’s conviction.
He says consultants have been accused online of having a “vendetta” against Letby — claims he strongly rejects.
“Where is your evidence for that?” he asks in the film. “I have been accused online of killing babies, which is shocking.”
Gibbs then explains that he lives with what he describes as “two guilts”.
“One is the guilt that we let the babies down,” he says. “And a tiny, tiny, tiny guilt — did we get the wrong person?”
He is clear that he does not believe Letby’s conviction represents a miscarriage of justice. But he admits there is one troubling reality that cannot be ignored.
“No one saw her do it,” he says.
Earlier in the documentary, Gibbs describes Letby as a nurse who appeared “quiet”, “keen”, and “conscientious” — a description that has fuelled wider public unease about how the crimes went undetected for so long.
Doctor told public inquiry he felt “ashamed”
In 2024, Gibbs gave evidence to the Thirlwall Inquiry, the public inquiry examining events at the Countess of Chester Hospital and the wider institutional failings surrounding Letby’s crimes.
During his testimony, he said he felt “ashamed”.
“I do deeply regret and I am ashamed that I failed to protect the babies from harm by Lucy Letby,” he said.
He added that he understood parents may now want explanations rather than apologies.
Gibbs also referenced a previous case — the Stepping Hill murders between 2011 and 2012 — in which nurse Rebecca Leighton was initially arrested before charges were dropped and another staff member was later convicted.
“You don’t have to be a perpetrator to be unfortunate and be on duty when sad events keep happening,” he said.
He also described “firm pushback” from nursing staff when early concerns were raised about Letby, explaining that suspicions were escalated to senior hospital executives.
“I know the parents of the later babies will not thank us for this,” he said. “But the suspicion was that something had affected a number of babies on the unit.”
Where is Lucy Letby now?
Lucy Letby is currently incarcerated at HM Prison Bronzefield in Ashford, England.
She is serving a whole life order, the most severe sentence in British law, making her only the fourth woman in UK history to receive one.
Former prison governor Vanessa Frake has previously said Letby would be considered a high-risk inmate, explaining that crimes against babies place offenders at the very bottom of the prison hierarchy.
In January this year, the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed it would not pursue further charges against Letby following additional allegations submitted by Cheshire Constabulary, stating that the evidential threshold had not been met.
Police said the decision was “not the outcome that we had anticipated”.
Read more: The best Netflix shows to watch this month
The Investigation of Lucy Letby is streaming on Netflix now.
Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know if you’ll be watching tonight?