Letby boss sorry 'if doctors felt intimidated'

The erstwhile aesculapian manager of the infirmary wherever Lucy Letby murdered babies has apologised to consultants “if they felt intimidated” by him.

Ian Harvey was the astir elder doc astatine the Countess of Chester Hospital erstwhile the caregiver killed 7 infants and tried to instrumentality the lives of 7 others betwixt 2015 and 2016.

Giving grounds for a 2nd time astatine the nationalist enquiry into the circumstances of the crimes, helium said 1 of the top regrets of his vocation was the breakdown successful relationships betwixt the hospital's executives and consultants.

Mr Harvey accepted helium failed successful his work of pastoral attraction to the paediatricians who were trying to rise the alarm astir Letby, who they had noted was often contiguous erstwhile babies died oregon came adjacent to decease abruptly and unexpectedly.

Rachel Langdale KC, counsel to the inquiry, asked Mr Harvey if helium had sought support from the victims' parents for their children’s aesculapian records to beryllium utilized successful a lawsuit enactment reappraisal of immoderate of the unexpected deaths astatine the neonatal unit.

Mr Harvey said helium could not callback whether helium had done this but, erstwhile pressed by Ms Langdale, helium said: “I astir surely would person delegated that task.

“I person nary recollection of pursuing that through. If I didn’t, that is simply a precise important mistake connected my portion and I’m precise atrocious for that.”

Mr Harvey was besides asked wherefore helium went up with a reappraisal of the neonatal portion by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health erstwhile the reviewers had told him they could not straight code the origin of the emergence successful unexpected deaths and collapses.

Ms Langdale said: “You were spending wealth and taking clip connected a reappraisal that isn’t going to reply the question you’ve got successful beforehand of you [that consultants paediatricians were acrophobic that Letby was deliberately harming babies]?”

Mr Harvey replied: “It was perfectly tenable to research with the applicable expertise, some aesculapian and nursing, the afloat scope of imaginable causes.”

He was besides asked wherefore helium told a infirmary committee that the Royal College did not urge immoderate contiguous enactment successful respect of the accrued mortality, erstwhile it had really recommended the infirmary commencement its ain probe into the doctors’ concerns.

Mr Harvey replied that helium did not deliberation it was an contiguous interest wherever The Royal College "say you person to instrumentality enactment earlier we permission the gathering oregon halt this work now”.

Ms Langdale enactment it to Mr Harvey that, nether his tenure arsenic aesculapian director, doctors were acrophobic they would suffer their jobs for raising diligent information concerns.

He responded: “I judge I failed successful a work of pastoral attraction that I should person offered.”

But helium said helium did not question to make a clime of fearfulness connected the unit.

He besides denied telling Susan Gilbey, who took implicit arsenic main enforcement astatine the hospital, that she should notation consultants to the General Medical Council.

“I did not accidental that,” helium said.

The Thirlwall inquiry, held astatine Liverpool Town Hall, continues.