David Conn's Blog

Exclusive: Jury was never told about inquiry into key prosecution witness Peter Hindmarsh, which looked into allegations including of harm to patients

A doctor who gave crucial expert evidence about insulin poisoning for the prosecution of the nurse Lucy Letby was under investigation by the medical regulator at the time due to serious concerns about his fitness to practise.

The General Medical Council (GMC) opened an investigation into concerns about Prof Peter Hindmarsh, including that he had harmed patients, on the first day he gave evidence at Letby’s trial in late 2022.

Netflix film revisits evidence that led to Letby’s conviction and hears from expert who says his research was misused

Shortly after Lucy Letby was sentenced to 15 whole-life terms for murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others between June 2015 and June 2016 – a conviction that made her Britain’s worst ever child serial killer – Cheshire police agreed to give “unparalleled and exclusive access” to the makers of a Netflix film about the case.

The finished documentary, The Investigation Of Lucy Letby, which is released on Wednesday, must be very different from what the producers envisaged when they first began work on the project, given the subsequent unexpected turns in the story. Since the two trials, the prosecution evidence and police handling of the case have faced criticism from an unprecedentedly large number of distinguished British and international medical experts. Led by the Canadian neonatologist, Dr Shoo Lee – who says again in the feature-length Netflix documentary that his research was misused to convict the nurse – many of the experts are convinced Letby is innocent, the victim of a catastrophic miscarriage of justice.

What was meant to be a triumph for Keir Starmer has become mired in disagreement with victims’ families

It was meant to be a triumphant moment. After almost 16 months of briefing from Whitehall sources that Keir Starmer would never be able to keep his promise to introduce the Hillsborough law, the prime minister was introduced at the Labour conference by Margaret Aspinall.

Aspinall, whose son James, 18, was one of the 97 people killed in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, has with other bereaved families fought ever since against police lies, and for the truth and justice, confronting many false promises – and a lot of prime ministers.

Families are concerned about possibility for intelligence services to veto officers giving evidence after disasters

Keir Starmer is facing the prospect of Labour MPs rebelling on his manifesto-promised Hillsborough law after talks broke down with families over how the duty of candour would apply to serving intelligence officers.

Starmer was introduced at last year’s Labour conference by Margaret Aspinall, whose son James, 18, was one of the 97 people killed in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster. She praised him for pushing forward with the bill after months of arguments over its future.

PPE Medpro owes government £148m for supplying unusable personal protective equipment during Covid-19 pandemic

The company linked to the former Conservative peer Michelle Mone, which owes the government almost £150m for supplying unusable personal protective equipment during the Covid-19 pandemic, has been put into liquidation.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) applied for PPE Medpro to be wound up at a high court hearing on Thursday, arguing that the company was “hopelessly insolvent” and should not continue in administration.

Most of losses from bounceback loan, furlough pay and eat out to help out fraud not recovered, report finds

Business live – latest updates

Ministers have been warned that fraud prevention efforts are falling short across government, as a major Covid report found that fraud and errors had resulted in a £10.9bn loss to UK taxpayers during the pandemic.

The report, by the independent Covid counter-fraud commissioner Tom Hayhoe, found that government schemes designed to support struggling businesses and their staff were rolled out at speed with no early safeguards, resulting in huge fraud risks that cost the public purse.

Sunderland were on course for their first win at Anfield since 1983 until Florian Wirtz forced an own-goal from Nordi Mukiele

1 min Liverpool kick off from right to left as we watch. They are in red; Sunderland are sporting their stylish Hummel change strip.

YNWA is being sung with the usual gusto at Anfield. The players on both sides look ready for business; let’s get it on.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Liew and Will Unwin to discuss the Premier League, with David Conn discussing the IOPC report on policing at Hillsborough

Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.

On the podcast today: Manchester City were 5-1 up at Craven Cottage before very nearly throwing it away. If not for Josko Gvardiol’s goal-line clearance in injury time, Fulham might have pulled off one of the greatest ever Premier League comebacks.

Failings of legal system mean 97 people were unlawfully killed, but no one will be held accountable

When the Independent Office for Police Conduct published the final report on its mammoth investigation into the Hillsborough disaster, the response from bereaved families and survivors was conflicted.

Some of the IOPC’s findings could be regarded as historic, in particular that 12 former officers would have had cases to answer for gross misconduct, including Peter Wright, the chief constable of South Yorkshire police at the time of the 1989 disaster.

None of the former officers named by the IOPC will face disciplinary proceedings because they have all retired

Timeline: decades seeking justice and change

The families of those who died in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster have said it is a “bitter injustice” that no police officer will ever be held accountable for a catalogue of failings set out in the final report of the police watchdog after a 14-year investigation.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) found that 12 police officers, most of them senior, would have faced disciplinary cases of gross misconduct if they were still serving.