The Mancunian Way: Cruel, calculated and cynical

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Baby killer Lucy Letby refused to come to court for her sentencing hearing at Manchester Crown Court this morning.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak branded the serial killer ‘cowardly’ and said the government is looking to change the law to make sure criminals face their victims. “I think it’s cowardly that people who commit such horrendous crimes do not face their victims and hear first hand the impact that their crimes have had on them and their families and loved ones,” he said.

Today, the 33-year-old - who is the most prolific child killer in modern history - begins a whole life sentence after being convicted of the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of six more.

But for the families whose lives she destroyed, it likely means very little. Their pain is unimaginable. And their devastating victim impact statements lay bare the sheer horror of Letby’s crimes.

One bereaved mum this morning described the nurse as ‘evil’, sobbing in court as she described how she ‘betrayed the many families who put their hope in your hands’. “You are clearly disconnected from God,” she added.

Another mother - whose newborn son was murdered by Letby - said she never could have imagined a nurse was capable of 'such despicable actions'. In a statement read by a prosecutor, she said that after the death of her child she feared for her second twin and made sure a member of the family was always with them. “Little did we know you were waiting for us to leave so you could attack the one thing that gave us a reason to carry on in life.”

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