Was There Ever A Crime? The Trials of Lucy Letby with John Sweeney

Episode Eight: John Sweeney and Edward Abel Smith are joined by Cleuci De Oliveira for a question and answer session on everything related to the trials of Lucy Letby. But this episode starts with yet another astonishing revelation about one of the four consultants who were Lucy Letby's primary accusers.

Today, on February 4th, 2025, we have heard the first complete report by the international panel of medical experts gathered by Lucy Letby's legal team under the guidence of Dr. Shoo Lee.  The report summary was presented in London at a press conference hosted by Sir David Davis, the senior Conservative party MP who has raised questions about the case and declared his certainty that this is a misc...

Unreliable Witness? As questions rise about the credibility of the Crown's star expert witness, Dr Dewi Evans, in this episode co-hosts John Sweeney and Edward Abel Smith go back in time to a 34-year-old scandal when a boy suffering a treatable disease died wholly unnecessarily in his hospital. The evidence pointed to GPs being negligent and forging medical notes. Dr Evans stands accused of taking...

This is Episond 6: The framing of Lucy Letby, the last episode in our series. In this episode hosts John Sweeney and Edward Abel Smith tell the story of how neonatal consultant Dr B accidentally killed a baby at the Countess of Chester Hospital and how the jury never knew. Former NHS doctor Phil Hammond then sets out why he believes that a horrible hospital is a far better explanation for the trag...

In Episode 5, Bad Science, we interview statistician John O'Quigley and neonatologist Colin Morley who have great doubts about the science behind the convictions against Lucy Letby. The two professors back up their logic with their own research papers - unlike the Crown's star expert witness, Dr Dewi Evans. This is an independently funded project, if you want to support the podcast please visit ou...

In this episode Dr Dewi Evans gives his last interview on his conviction that Lucy Letby is a murderer, his view that critics, especially statisticians, are wrong and are often senior males who see Letby as a damsel in distress. We will be dealing with the issues raised by Dr Evans in the next episode. John Sweeney and Ed Abel Smith also discover that the one of the four consultants who accused Lu...

In this episode hosts John Sweeney and Ed Abel Smith ask critical questions of the Cheshire Police investigation into the state of the neonatal clinic at the Countess of Chester Hospital: why did the coppers plump for the conclusion of a serial killer at large? Why did they hire, then fire a professor of statistics and not tell the defence? And did the police understand the complex medical reality...

In episode 2 - After a spike in deaths in the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015, hospital bosses called in a team of independent expert doctors to find the root cause. Their report was damning, criticising environment, staffing and the consultants doing two scheduled ward rounds a week - the standard is two a day. The consultants pointed to a killer nurse on the loose. But...

Lucy Letby is the most prolific serial killer of our time. She is convicted of murdering seven babies and trying to harm many others. But there are serious questions about not only whether she is a killer at all, but whether there was ever a crime. In episode one, John Sweeney and Edward Abel Smith discover that all is not as it seems at the Countess of Chester Hospital, the place Letby is accused...

New podcast announcement. Welcome to our new podcast series 'Was There Ever A Crime: The Trials of Lucy Letby'. Please help us fund this important journalistic project, go to our Crowdfunder here - https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/lucy-letby-was-there-ever-a-crime Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Lucy Letby is Britain's worst female serial killer in modern times. Or is she? O...

John Sweeney has been tracking the evidence of Vladimir Putin's war crimes for over two decades. Now, on the ground in Kyiv, the old school reporter is sharing the truth. In this week's episode, John exposes the long list of Putin's enemies who've wound up dead - and the early life of the man behind the killing machine. Taking On Putin is funded by you - the listener. You can support the podcast o...

John Sweeney has been keeping track of the people caught up in Vladimir Putin's war crimes for over 20 years. This week, he remembers some of the people silenced for speaking out - and why their deaths were 'almost certainly' at the hands of the Kremlin. Taking On Putin is funded by you - the listener. You can support the podcast on Crowdfunder. Follow John on Twitter - @johnsweeneyroar

John Sweeney has been uncovering the evidence of Vladimir Putin's war crimes for over twenty years. Now, he's on the ground in Kyiv reporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This episode, John reveals how Putin uses sex to shame his opponents, but has made it extremely dangerous for others to discuss the the Russian president's own affairs. Taking On Putin is funded by you - the listener. You can su...

John Sweeney has been in Kyiv since before Russia's invasion of Ukraine - reporting from on the ground. This episode he visits towns near Kyiv that were occupied by Russia, and records evidence of war crimes. But over 20 years ago, John was reporting on the very same crimes, and others committed against civilians, in Russia and Chechnya - under Vladimir Putin's leadership. Taking On Putin is funde...

John Sweeney has been in Kyiv since before Russia's invasion of Ukraine - reporting the war from on the ground. But he's been on Vladimir Putin's case for over twenty years. This episode, he examines the evidence for the poisoning and murder of Kremlin critics going back decades, and recalls his own face-to-face encounter with President Putin. Taking On Putin is funded by you - the listener. You c...

John Sweeney's been on Vladimir Putin's case for more than 20 years - reporting on killings and crimes committed under Putin's leadership in Russia and beyond.  John's been reporting from on the ground in Ukraine since before Russia invaded, but now he's returning to London for a short break.  In this special episode, John is interviewed by his brilliant Ukrainian fixer Liza, and they reflect on t...

John Sweeney has been on Vladimir Putin's case for over twenty years. He's back in the UK after nearly three months in Kyiv reporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This episode John revisits a war-like act by Russian operatives on British soil - using a banned nerve agent to try to kill a former Russian spy. John asks why the British response to the attack was so muted. Taking On Putin is funded b...

John Sweeney has been on Vladimir Putin's case for over twenty years.  He spent nearly three months in Kyiv reporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Currently back in London, this episode John explores the opposition to Putin from within Russia.  He tells the story of those who've given everything - even up to their lives - taking on the Kremlin to fight for democracy. Taking On Putin is funded by...

John Sweeney has been on Vladimir Putin's case for over twenty years.  He's been in Kyiv since February, reporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine from on the ground. Early predictions of a rapid Russian victory turned out to be wrong, but they're doing much better in Eastern Ukraine. This episode John looks at the rot at the heart of the Russian system that's weakened their military machine, and...

John Sweeney has been on Vladimir Putin's case for over twenty years - reporting on evidence of Kremlin-backed crimes in Russia, Chechnya, Ukraine and beyond.  John's been reporting from Kyiv throughout the Russian invasion. In this episode he examines stories that the master of the Kremlin may be seriously ill - and considers whether Putin facing his own mortality could be a motivation for launch...

John Sweeney has been on Vladimir Putin's case for over twenty years. He's been reporting from Kyiv throughout the Russian invasion. In this final episode of Taking On Putin, John heads East towards the frontline, to speak to the people bearing the brunt of the Kremlin's war machine. He asks what is the real cost for all of us, of not taking on Putin? Taking On Putin is funded by you - the listene...

John Sweeney has been on Vladimir Putin's case for over twenty years. In this special bonus episode of Taking on Putin, we bring you a sneak peek of John's new audiobook, Killer in the Kremlin. Killer in the Kremlin is brought to you by Penguin, and will be published on Thursday 21 July 2022. Available on Audible, Apple Books, Google Play and other audio retailers.

The journalist John Sweeney has been on Vladimir Putin's case for 22 years since he first saw evidence of war crimes by the Russian army under Putin's command in Chechnya. John first called Vladimir Putin a war criminal in March 2000. And again and again he's seen evidence of Vladimir Putin killing people, killing people in Russia, killing people in Britain and around the world. Reporting from Kyi...