Background and Times role
Mark McLaughlin writes for The Times and has been one of the publication’s principal reporters on the Letby case and the Thirlwall Inquiry. His coverage has been notable for its granular engagement with the procedural record: rather than focusing exclusively on the broader narrative of the case, his reporting has tracked specific witness sessions, the content of exhibits and documents placed before the inquiry, and the responses of individual consultants and managers under questioning. That approach has made his output a significant source of contemporaneous inquiry record for readers following the proceedings in detail.
Thirlwall Inquiry coverage
The Thirlwall Inquiry, chaired by Lady Justice Thirlwall, was established to examine how Lucy Letby was able to harm babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital and what the institutional response to concerns about her was. McLaughlin has reported from the inquiry hearing sessions, covering the oral evidence of consultant paediatricians, hospital executives, and nursing staff. His reporting has captured details of the questioning of witnesses about what information was available to management at various stages, what decisions were taken in response, and what records were made of the concerns raised by medical staff. The inquiry transcripts and his contemporaneous reporting together form an important public record of proceedings that have run over an extended period.
Coverage of post-trial evidence
Beyond the inquiry itself, McLaughlin has also reported on the body of post-conviction expert analysis that has emerged since Letby’s conviction in August 2023. This includes coverage of clinical and statistical critiques of the evidence presented at trial, of interventions by clinicians who were not called as witnesses, and of the procedural questions raised by commentators about the expert-evidence framework on which the prosecution relied. His reporting has given The Times readership access to a more technically detailed account of the post-trial debate than has been available in much of the mainstream press, and has helped to establish the evidentiary complexity that underlies the public controversy about the safety of the convictions.
Read alongside
- Andrew Norfolk — Times investigative reporter
- Lady Justice Thirlwall — inquiry chair
- Roger Hutton KC — counsel to the Thirlwall Inquiry
- Dr Stephen Brearey — consultant paediatrician who raised concerns
- Commentary library
Source
Public statements, named-publication articles, Hansard / official records, and our own coverage where applicable.