A neo-natal nurse went on trial in Britain on Monday, charged with the murder of seven babies in her care and the attempted killing of 10 others.
Lucy Letby, 32, has denied murdering five boys and two girls, and attempting to murder another five boys and five girls between June 2015 and June 2016.
She is alleged to have carried out the killings at the Countess of Chester Hospital, in Chester, northwest England, where she was working.
Opening the prosecution case, lawyer Nick Johnson said that neo-natal mortality at the hospital had been comparable to other units around the country.
But over 18 months from January 2015 it saw a "significant" rise in the number of deaths and serious catastrophic collapses.
Consultants were concerned because babies who were dying deteriorated unexpectedly. Some who collapsed did not respond to appropriate treatment.
Others collapsed then dramatically recovered, defying "the normal experience" of doctors, he told a jury at Manchester Crown Court.
"Having searched for a cause, which they were unable to find, the consultants noticed that the inexplicable collapses and deaths did have one common denominator," he alleged.
"The presence of one of the neo-natal nurses and that nurse was Lucy Letby."
Johnson said deaths and collapses happened on night shifts when Letby was on shift, then when she moved to work during the day.
One review suggested that in the 12 months from mid-2015, two children were poisoned with insulin. The "only reasonable conclusion" that can be drawn was that it was done deliberately, he added.
"This was no accident," he said, describing the collapses and deaths of all 17 children concerned as not "naturally occurring tragedies".
Some were injected with air in their bloodstream, others were fed with insulin or too much milk, the lawyer said.
"They were all the work, we say, of the woman in the dock, who we say was the constant malevolent presence when things took a turn for the worse of these 17 children," Johnson alleged.
In all, Letby is facing 22 charges -- seven of murder and 15 of attempted murder, as she allegedly tried to kill some children more than once.
The youngest alleged murder victim -- a boy who was born prematurely -- was just a day old and "well" but died within 90 minutes of Letby coming on duty on June 8, 2015, the court was told.
Medical experts said his death was consistent with a deliberate injection of air or something else into his circulation minutes before his collapse.
Discolouration on the boy's skin was consistent with some of the other cases in which Letby is alleged to have injected air into a victim's bloodstream, the jury heard.
Letby then tried to kill the boy's twin sister just hours later, it was alleged. She was revived and does not appear to have suffered any adverse effects, said Johnson.
(AFP)
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)