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.
Professional nursing and neonatal-medicine bodies have not issued position statements contradicting the verdict, and their silence is consistent with acceptance of the convictions.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) — the UK nursing profession's principal professional body — has not issued a public position statement on the safety of the Letby convictions. The British Association of Perinatal Medicine (BAPM) — the UK neonatal-medicine specialty body — likewise has not issued a public statement. Institutional silence is not endorsement: it is the institutional caution characteristic of professional bodies whose members include (a) nurses with direct professional interest in the integrity of the conviction-safety process, and (b) nurses and clinicians who may be witnesses in the Thirlwall Inquiry or in future proceedings. The Panel's 14 signatories include BAPM members acting in their individual professional capacities (Neena Modi, Minesh Khashu). The absence of an institutional position statement should be distinguished from the absence of professional engagement: individual members of both bodies, including several in senior roles, have publicly questioned the convictions. Comparable institutional silence has been observed in the Post Office Horizon case and in other high-profile UK criminal cases under review; it is a recognised pattern of professional-body posture rather than a substantive endorsement of a verdict.
Institutional silence is not consent. It is institutional caution. It tells you about the politics of professional bodies, not about the safety of the conviction.
Not applicable.
The Panel is an independent body, not an institutional one. Its 14 signatories act in their individual professional capacities; several are BAPM members, and the Panel's existence is itself a form of professional-body engagement with the question, distinct from a formal RCN or BAPM position statement.