The public inquiry into the events surrounding the crimes of child serial killer nurse Lucy Letby will begin today.

Chaired by Lady Justice Thirlwall, the investigation is to examine how Letby was able to attack babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015 and 2016, and how its bosses handled concerns about her.

Letby, 34, from Hereford, is serving 15 whole-life orders after she was convicted at Manchester Crown Court of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others, with two attempts on one of her victims.

Starting on September 10, the inquiry will cover three broad areas.

Firstly, the experiences of the parents of the babies who featured on the criminal indictment.

Secondly, the conduct of those working at the Countess of Chester and how Letby was able repeatedly to kill and harm babies.

Despite mounting concerns raised to bosses, she was not removed from the unit until after the deaths of two triplets and the suspected collapse of another baby on three successive days in June 2016 and police were not called in until the following year.

Thirdly, a focus on the wider NHS in examining relationships between the various groups of professionals, the culture within hospitals and how these affect the safety of newborns in neonatal units.

In Lady Justice Thirlwall’s opening statement in November, the senior Court of Appeal judge said she would also probe what recommendations had been made from previous inquiries into events in hospitals and other healthcare settings, and what difference they made.

Letby protested to the court “I’m innocent” as she was led from the dock when she was sentenced in July to her 15th whole-life order after a jury convicted her at retrial of the attempted murder of a baby girl.

In May, she lost her Court of Appeal bid to challenge her convictions from the first trial which took place between October 2022 and August 2023.

Her new lawyer, Mark McDonald, has claimed that new medical evidence and expert opinion had revealed “flaws” in the prosecution case and that he plans to apply to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) to ask it to return the case to the Court of Appeal for consideration.

A number of doctors, scientists and statisticians have publicly challenged how the evidence was presented to jurors.

The first week of the inquiry will hear opening statements, with evidence scheduled to begin the following week.