Dr Dewi Evans — the prosecution's lead expert
Prosecution claim
Dr Dewi Evans provided causation opinions on most counts. The Crown presented him as the neonatal expert whose reading of skin signs, radiological findings and clinical patterns established the mechanism of harm.
Counter-evidence
Dr Evans had not worked in routine neonatal intensive care for over a decade at the time of trial. He reportedly approached Cheshire Police offering his services before being instructed. In 2023 a separate family-court judgment described an unrelated Evans expert report as 'worthless' for its methodology. The Shoo Lee Panel and multiple other practising neonatologists have concluded that his methods — particularly for air embolism — fall well below the standard expected in modern neonatology.
It is our view that the methods used to infer cause of death in this case fall well below the standard expected in modern neonatology.
What the jury heard
Dr Evans was presented to the jury as the authoritative neonatal expert. Juries were not told how long he had been out of routine neonatal intensive care, nor of the 2023 family-court characterisation.
What the Panel says
The Panel's methodological critique is unusually direct: the techniques Evans used to infer cause of death 'fall well below the standard expected in modern neonatology'.
What independent experts add
- Private Eye's M.D. column has documented Evans's approach to police before instruction.
- A family-court judge (2023) described an unrelated Evans report as 'worthless'.
- Multiple practising neonatologists have declined to endorse his air-embolism methodology.