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.
Plain chest and abdominal X-rays taken around the time of several collapses were described at trial as showing gas in unusual places — consistent, the Crown said, with deliberate injection of air into lines or deliberate over-inflation of the stomach via an NG tube.
The Panel and paediatric radiologists reviewing the same films describe the appearances as non-specific. Intraluminal gas in the gastrointestinal tract is typical of critically ill preterm infants, particularly those developing necrotising enterocolitis. Gas in hepatic vasculature — sometimes cited — is a late-stage finding in NEC and does not imply injection. The radiological inference from these films is, at best, ambiguous.
The radiographs show findings that are routine in sick preterm infants. They do not, on their own, establish any deliberate act.
Expert witnesses described specific X-ray findings as consistent with air injection. The jury was shown annotated images.
Independent radiologists re-reviewing the same films describe the findings as non-specific and compatible with NEC, sepsis or simple gastric distension in sick babies.