Linda Schermer-Jones, a dual-qualified solicitor and doctor at Oliver & Co Solicitors and Head of the Clinical Negligence department, represents the families of the baby victims in the ongoing Thirlwall Inquiry.
The Public Inquiry, which began in 2023 and is chaired by the very experienced Court of Appeal Judge Lady Justice Thirlwall, was set up to examine events at the Countess of Chester Hospital concerning the tragic murders and attempted murders of babies by former neonatal nurse Lucy Letby. Letby was convicted of 14 counts of murder and attempted murder and is the most prolific child murderer in Britain. She has twice made appeals before the Court of Appeal against her convictions and was unsuccessful on both occasions.
With many months of daily hearings held at the Liverpool Town Hall, the Inquiry remains an emotional and profound process for the Core Participants, particularly for the families whose children were murdered and harmed by Letby.
The Inquiry was not set up to determine Letby’s guilt or innocence, Letby’s guilt has already been established before two courts of law in jury-led trials. Her appeals against her convictions have been dismissed. Instead, this Inquiry focuses on critical questions such as what happened within the hospital, who knew what and when, and how such tragedies can be prevented in the future.
Linda’s role as a legal representative includes investigating the issues and supporting the families and ensuring their voices are heard with empathy, clarity, and professionalism.
What the Public Inquiry Aims to Address
The Terms of Reference for the Inquiry are to look into:
- The experiences of the parents of the babies named in the criminal indictment regarding the care provided to their children.
- Who knew what, and when, regarding the events at the hospital.
- Whether changes are necessary to keep babies in hospital safe and well looked after, and if so, what they should be.
For the families Linda represents, the Inquiry provides an opportunity to discover the truth and achieve justice for their children, but also to make sure that others don’t have to experience the same harm that they did.
The Families’ Experience and the Need for Support
For the parents, the experience of the care provided to them and their children is a central focus. Many have expressed feelings of being ‘kept in the dark.’ They also feel confusion and pain from being left uninformed about what happened to their child, despite initially being assured that their children’s care was safe and appropriate. The revelation that Letby was responsible for the harm caused to their babies has severely shaken their trust in medical professionals.
Linda’s role is to ensure the families’ experiences are accurately represented throughout the Inquiry. This includes guiding them through the legal complexities while offering support and a platform for them to share their stories.
What We Know: Who Knew What and When?
The Inquiry is exploring the critical question of who knew what, and when. For the families Linda represents, their main concern is understanding how and when the hospital staff and health authorities became aware of the suspicious circumstances surrounding their children’s care. Were there missed opportunities to intervene? Did systemic failures contribute to the ongoing harm?
Linda’s dual expertise in law and medicine allows her to help the families navigate complex medical and legal evidence, ensuring they understand and can make informed decisions throughout the Inquiry.
Preventing Future Tragedies
One of the most important questions for the families, is: How can we ensure this never happens again? This Inquiry is not only about seeking justice for the victims but also about preventing future tragedies.
The Inquiry examines whether the systems at the Countess of Chester Hospital were adequate, whether proper procedures were followed, and whether the Trust’s culture, management and governance structures and processes contributed to the failure to protect babies from Letby. The families hope that the findings will lead to systemic changes, creating a safer healthcare environment for future generations.
Legal Support for Families
Throughout the Inquiry, it is crucial that families receive the legal support they need. As Core Participants, families are entitled to legal funding to ensure proper representation during proceedings, including written and verbal statements, submissions, and evidence presentation.
Linda works tirelessly to ensure that the families’ voices are heard and that they receive the support necessary throughout the process. Representing these families is a profound responsibility, and Linda is committed to ensuring they receive the respect, dignity, and legal expertise they deserve.
Key Evidence to Consider:
All documents discussed in the Thirlwall Inquiry are within the public domain and accessible through the Thirlwall Inquiry website. We encourage people to consider the following documents:
- Written Opening Statement Families (https://thirlwall.public-inquiry.uk/written-submission/written-opening-statement-of-family-group-2-and-3/)
- Written Closing Submissions Families (https://thirlwall.public-inquiry.uk/written-submission/written-closing-submission-of-family-group-2-and-3/)
Richard Baker KC on behalf of the families, having considered all the evidence brought before this Inquiry, submitted the following at the hearing of 18th March 2025:
“[…] This Inquiry by its Terms of Reference and in the way in which it has been conducted has never involved an analysis of Letby’s convictions. Instead, the Inquiry has looked at how an NHS Trust investigates suspicions of deliberate harm and then how it reacts when allegations of deliberate harm are made.
The Families would hope that the one thing that should unite everyone who reads the evidence given before this Inquiry is a sense that the NHS should do better when faced with these issues. The Families’ submissions highlight that the evidence before the Thirlwall Inquiry demonstrates a number of things.
There were poor systems for investigating unusual deaths. There was a failure to reach or to react to unusual blood tests. There was a failure of safeguarding structures, a failure to listen to concerns when raised and a deliberate cover-up.
There was a suppression of evidence, a lack of candour with Families, and then the persecution of whistleblowers. The message coming through the evidence is that there was a total and absolute failure of culture at the Countess of Chester Hospital, and on the part of individuals a total failure to meet the basic standards to be expected of senior, powerful and well-paid NHS executives.
The volume of the noise surrounding this Inquiry should not be allowed to distract from the message at its heart. The failure of basic patient safety mechanisms within NHS trusts cannot be allowed to continue in this way.
Many features of this case are common and have been repeated through multiple inquiries and investigations into healthcare disasters. If they are not addressed, they will continue to cause harm to patients and to their families by many different routes
This is a harm that it is in everybody’s interests to avoid. There will be countless people on both sides of the debate, no doubt, who will or will be the victims of harm due to failures of safety culture within the NHS. This Inquiry provides an opportunity to address those issues now […]”.
The Next Steps of the Inquiry
Now that written closing submissions have been filed and were amplified by way of oral closing in public hearings, Lady Justice Thirlwall will provide her report to the Secretary of State. This will include such findings and recommendations as she considers appropriate. She has indicated that she anticipates her report to be ready by November 2025.
