Lucy Letby offered her union rep 'tips on getting away with murder'
by Liz Hull · Mail OnlineLucy Letby told her union rep she could give her 'tips' on how to get away with murder, the public inquiry heard today.
Hayley Griffiths admitted she became close friends with the killer nurse when she was moved off the neo-natal at the Countess of Chester Hospital amid suspicions she was murdering and harming babies in her care.
The Royal College of Nursing representative told the Thirlwall Inquiry, which is investigating Letby's crimes, that she regretted starting an 'unprofessional' text conversation with her, which began: 'I'm currently watching a programme called how to get away with murder, I'm learning some good tips.'
Letby replied: 'I could have given you some tips.'
Ms Griffiths added: 'I need someone to practice on to see if I can get away with it.'
Letby said: 'I can think of two people you could practice on and we'll help you cover it up x.'
Ms Griffiths replied: 'Deal, I will get thinking of a plan, get the cruise booked as our getaway.'
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The message exchange about murder tips took place in March 2017.
Ms Griffiths also sent comforting messages to Letby after the police were called in to investigate, in May 2017, and told her they would be 'friends for life.'
The inquiry heard that, four months later, in September 2017, Letby was allowed to attend a 'life support' course on the neo-natal unit of Glan Clwyd Hospital, 30 miles away from Chester, across the border in North Wales. The inquiry has heard that Letby wasn't suspended from working as a nurse even after she was redeployed.
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She later messaged Ms Griffiths: 'Just finished my course in Glan Clwyd & passed so really pleased after all the effort. Finally, I've done something neonatal X.'
The following year, around the second anniversary of the death of two triplet brothers, who were murdered on consecutive shifts, and just days before she was first arrested by police, in July 2018, Letby also sent a text to Ms Griffiths saying she was thinking about their parents.
She wrote: 'I can't help but think of them and that they'll be celebrating a birthday with only 1 out of their 3 boys. X'
No evidence was presented to the inquiry about which two people Letby was referring to, but the hospital's lead paediatricians, Dr Stephen Brearey and Dr Ravi Jayaram, had lobbied senior managers to remove her from the ward.
Ms Griffiths said she 'truly and deeply regretted' starting the text conversation with the serial killer.
But she said she didn't think the exchange, which took place before Letby was arrested, was anything 'more than a conversation' or that 'she was telling me anything.'
'It was completely unprofessional and poor judgement on my part,' Ms Griffiths said.
'It was completely insensitive and I can only apologise from the bottom of my heart.'
In another message, Ms Griffiths described Letby as 'my lovely criminal mastermind.'
The 34-year-old is currently serving 15 whole life tariffs for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven more at the Cheshire hospital, between June 2015 and June 2016.
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The inquiry heard that Letby's parents, John and Sue Letby, repeatedly telephoned Ms Griffiths, hospital bosses, other unions reps and Dr Christopher Green, the medic who investigated Letby's employment grievance against the Trust, after she was redeployed.
They also sent a statement to senior managers, in December 2016, which claimed their daughter had told them she 'wouldn't hurt anything, let alone a tiny baby.'
The statement revealed that Letby initially didn't tell her parents about her redeployment because she was worried it might 'upset them.'
But when they did find out, they described being 'shocked to the core' and 'heartbroken' about the 'sickening allegations.'
They wrote: 'To say we were shocked to the core is the understatement of the century. As parents the sickening allegations made against our daughter became a game changer.
'Our daughter has been to hell and back since July. Can you imagine what it is like to know that colleagues are calling you a murderer? She has frequently said to us during the last four months, 'I wouldn't hurt anything let alone a tiny baby'.
'It has broken our hearts especially as we live a hundred miles away and we are so proud of how Lucy has conducted herself and endured this nightmare. I have often said to Lucy, 'how do you keep going' and she says quite simply 'because I haven't done anything wrong'.'
The statement also said their daughter was 'losing weight' and 'suffering inside.'
Mr and Mrs Letby claimed they had been kept awake worrying about the allegations and were at a 'loss' to understand why 'certain consultants have a personal grudge against Lucy.'
They concluded: 'The overlying question that has kept us awake since the day all this started and no one has come up with an answer is 'why Lucy?'
Ms Griffiths described how she broke news of the serious allegations being made by the doctors to Letby during a 'frank' conversation in a country park, two months after she was removed from the unit, in September 2016.
She admitted that Letby's reaction – to stand up calmly, ask to be alone and to go on her phone – rather than to 'burst out crying' or to ask questions about who was making the allegations did appear 'a little strange.'
But she insisted 'everybody deals with things differently.'
The inquiry heard that when Letby was redeployed into Ms Griffiths' office, in the hospital's risk and patient safety department, in July 2016, the pair became so close that Ms Griffiths later told her she 'loved her as a friend.'
But she denied their friendship 'clouded' her professional judgement. Instead, she insisted that she'd personally seen no evidence of wrongdoing and her job was to support Letby at that time.
Ms Griffiths added: 'This wasn't an employment issue and it should never have been an employment issue. They (senior managers) should have called the police in straight away. But we were being told on a weekly basis, 'There is no evidence, we support you, we're going to get you back to the unit,' every week.'
The message exchange about murder tips took place in March 2017.
Ms Griffiths also sent comforting messages to Letby after the police were called in to investigate, in May 2017, and told her they would be 'friends for life.'
The inquiry heard that, four months later, in September 2017, Letby was allowed to attend a 'life support' course on the neo-natal unit of Glan Clwyd Hospital, 30 miles away from Chester, across the border in North Wales. The inquiry has heard that Letby wasn't suspended from working as a nurse even after she was redeployed.
She later messaged Ms Griffiths: 'Just finished my course in Glan Clwyd & passed so really pleased after all the effort. Finally, I've done something neonatal X.'
The following year, around the second anniversary of the death of two triplet brothers, who were murdered on consecutive shifts, and just days before she was first arrested by police, in July 2018, Letby also sent a text to Ms Griffiths saying she was thinking about their parents.
She wrote: 'I can't help but think of them and that they'll be celebrating a birthday with only 1 out of their 3 boys. X
The inquiry, at Liverpool Town Hall, continues.