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From: Denc 🗡
Innocent?… Letby defence given boost by new scientific research Experts argue that babies are often born with antibodies that bind to insulin, keeping levels elevated Lucy Letby’s defence case has been given a major boost after a leading scientific journal published research showing premature babies can have high levels of insulin without foul play. Letby, 36, was convicted of injecting insulin into the feed bags of two babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015 and 2016. Both suffered lethal crashes in blood sugar, and the prosecution argued blood insulin levels were so high, it was “impossible” they occurred naturally. But Prof Geoff Chase, an insulin expert, and Helen Shannon, a chemical engineer, argued that four in 10 preterm babies had high insulin readings, and that babies were often born with antibodies that bind to insulin, effectively storing the hormone and keeping levels elevated. Their theory has now been published in the Journal of Diabetes, Science and Technology, where it passed peer review from other experts. It was deemed important enough to be selected as a “letter to the editor” by Dr David Klonoff, a leading endocrinologist and journal editor. Referring to the Letby case, Prof Chase, of the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, said: “This ‘impossible’ result is effectively quite common.” Letby’s defence team has already presented the new insulin evidence to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which is examining it for a potential miscarriage of justice. But its inclusion in a major scientific journal effectively rubber stamps the research, as peer review is considered the gold standard. Sir David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, who has called the Letby trial a “clear miscarriage of justice”, said: “This paper shows that there is a far more plausible explanation. Insulin evidence ‘integral to conviction’ “This is clear new evidence and should persuade the CCRC to immediately refer the case back to the Court of Appeal since the insulin evidence was integral to Letby’s conviction.” Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others. However, since the trial there have been growing concerns about the case, with dozens of medical and scientific experts questioning how the evidence was presented to the jury. In the insulin cases, there was no direct evidence that the feed bags had been tampered with, as tests were never carried out on the contents, so the prosecution instead relied on blood samples from the babies. When the body creates insulin in the pancreas it also creates a second chemical called c-peptide at an equal rate. Insulin leaves the body much faster than c-peptide so, naturally, there should not be more insulin than c-peptide in the body. During deliberations, the jury was told by Mr Justice Goss that the “abnormal finding’s indicated that manufactured insulin had undoubtedly been given to each of these babies”. Even Letby accepted the babies must have been poisoned as there was no alternative explanation. But Prof Chase and Ms Shannon showed that in preterm babies, these ratios are often reversed. ‘Real problems with the science’ Mark McDonald, Letby’s barrister, said: “The defence at the trial never accepted that synthetic insulin had been given and they challenged the integrity of these tests. It is now clear that there are real problems with the science behind this testing and you can no longer trust its reliability. “This matter needs to be urgently referred back to the Court of Appeal because right now an innocent woman is sitting in prison when she should not be.” Studies have shown that between 3 and 97 per cent of preterm infants are born with antibodies that bind to insulin – keeping it present in the body for longer – and it is even more likely if they have been exposed to infections and some antibiotics. In the case of the Letby babies, both had been treated with antibiotics for suspected sepsis, and the neonatal unit had been struggling to eliminate a bacterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which had colonised taps. “One of the gradually emerging revelations from the Countess of Chester Hospital is systemically poor infection control in and around the neonatal intensive care unit,” said Sir David. “This paper highlights that when the baby or mother is exposed to infection, it can produce sky-high insulin levels, much higher than C-peptide, giving a natural explanation for the ratios so important to the trial.” The antibody problem is well known, and the experts claim the lab should have sent the blood samples for further tests. The babies recovered, so the abnormal results were never followed up and were later thrown away. The “abnormal” insulin levels were not uncovered until detectives began hunting for evidence and noticed that the incidents coincided with Letby’s shift patterns. It is not clear whether elevated levels of insulin were found in babies when Letby was not on shift.

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Innocent?…...[more]	Denc 🗡	23:34:41

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