Role in the case
As Director of Nursing, Kelly held the executive nursing-line responsibility for the neonatal unit during the 2015-2016 cluster. Thirlwall Inquiry evidence documents the decisions to reassign Ms Letby away from clinical duties in June 2016 (to a non-patient-facing role in the risk and patient-safety office), to commission the RCPCH service review rather than forensic investigation, and the subsequent sequence through to May 2017 when police were contacted.
The July 2025 arrest
On 1 July 2025 Kelly was arrested alongside Chambers and Harvey on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. The investigation relates to the executive-team clinical-governance decision chain, not directly to the deaths for which Ms Letby was convicted. The CPS has not yet made a charging decision.
Read alongside
- Tony Chambers — former CEO
- Ian Harvey — former Medical Director
- Sir Duncan Nichol — former Trust Board Chair
- Analysis: apology-letter sequence
- Analysis: RCPCH review as decoy
- Timeline: executives arrested July 2025
Source
Thirlwall Inquiry evidence bundles; Cheshire Police statements 1 July 2025; CPS public communications.