May 2026: Thirlwall Inquiry report delayed to at least September 2026 · six-baby inquests relisted to 2027 · CCRC review active · Shoo Lee Panel: no medical evidence of deliberate harm.
The Crown alleged Child M's collapse was caused by deliberate air embolism injected by Lucy Letby.
The Panel found no evidence of air embolism in Child M. Its conclusion is that the apnoea was caused by sepsis or by the eustachian valve, and that the resuscitation Child M received was suboptimal. The skin discolouration cited at trial as diagnostic of air embolism does not, in any event, match the criteria in the 1989 Lee & Tanswell paper the prosecution relied on — as Dr Shoo Lee, that paper's lead author, has himself stated. Child M was also managed with positive-pressure ventilation and a rebreathing bag during the resuscitation period, routes by which air routinely enters the gastrointestinal tract without anyone injecting it.
The Panel found no medical evidence of air embolism in Child M. It attributes the apnoea to sepsis or the eustachian valve, and describes the resuscitation as suboptimal.
The skin discolouration on Child M was described as diagnostic of air embolism. The jury was told this, combined with Letby's presence, was proof of the deliberate-injection mechanism.
The Panel found no evidence of air embolism in Child M and concludes the apnoea was due to sepsis or the eustachian valve. It also finds that the resuscitation was suboptimal.