Three former executives from the Countess of Chester Hospital (CoCH) were arrested on suspicion of gross negligent manslaughter, Cheshire Constabulary confirmed on Tuesday.
The arrests mark a significant escalation in the ongoing investigation into institutional failures during the period when nurse Lucy Letby murdered seven infants and attempted to kill seven others between 2015 and 2016.
Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes stated the individuals – unnamed members of the hospital’s 2015-2016 senior leadership team – were detained on Monday, 30 June, and later bailed pending further inquiries.
The development follows an October 2023 probe into corporate manslaughter at the hospital, which expanded in March 2025 to include individual gross negligence manslaughter charges. Hughes emphasised:
It is important to note that this does not impact on the convictions of Lucy Letby for multiple offences of murder and attempted murder.
The investigation examines whether leadership decisions contributed to preventable fatalities through “grossly negligent action or inaction.” This separate legal avenue focuses on individual accountability rather than organisational liability under corporate manslaughter laws. All three suspects held senior positions during Letby’s killing spree on the neonatal unit, though police have not disclosed specific allegations against them.
Meanwhile, Letby continues serving 15 whole-life sentences while seeking to overturn her convictions through the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). Her legal team submitted new expert evidence earlier this year challenging forensic findings, though two prior appeals failed. This effort gained momentum after an international panel of experts asserted in February they found “no evidence of criminality” upon reviewing medical records.
Cheshire Constabulary confirmed all inquiries remain active, including the corporate manslaughter investigation into hospital leadership decision-making, gross negligence manslaughter allegations against individuals, and a broader review of 25 infant deaths and 120 non-fatal collapses at CoCH and Liverpool Women’s Hospital between 2012-2016.
The arrests represent the first since Letby’s initial detention in July 2018, underscoring the complexity of untangling institutional and individual responsibilities in one of Britain’s most harrowing healthcare scandals.
