in tears, lucy letby is brought out of her house under arrest and ta ken away. it seemed unbelievable — a neonatal nurse, a protector of the most vulnerable members of society. lucy letby had worked at the countess of chester children's hospital since 2012. in early 2015, she qualified to work in the neonatal high dependency and intensive care units. onjune 8 that year, she committed her first murder. for the next 12 months, the attacks continued. injune 2016, two babies died in two days. 0n the third day, another baby collapsed. letby was taken off clinical duties. two years later, letby was arrested for the first time. police found medical records under her bed and hand—scrawled notes. "i am a horrible, evil person," one says. "i am evil. i did this," says another. "i don't deserve to live. i killed them on purpose because i'm not good enough to care for them. i am a horrible, evil person." a confession — or, as letby claimed — the tormented thoughts of someone accused of heinous crimes. the trial was told letby had used hard—to—detect methods to carry out her attacks. in her hands, innocuous substances like air, milk or medication like insulin would become lethal. she perverted her learning and weaponised her craft to inflict harm, grief and death. legally, we can't identify the families who were involved in this case. these are the parents of twin boys born prematurely at the hospital. their mother was taking milk to them when she heard one of her sons crying loudly. in the corridor, i could immediately hear crying. well, it was — it felt more than crying, it was screaming. it was screaming. and i was like, "what? what's the matter with them?" i walked into the room to see it was my boy. he had blood round his mouth, and lucy was there... well, faffing about. you know when it feels like somebody wants to look busy but they're not actually doing anything? the baby died that evening. the next night, they couldn't believe it when their other son also fell ill — another victim of letby. he survived but now has complex needs. now the focus turns to what lessons can be learnt the file may be over, letby may serve life in prison for her crimes, but now it turns to lesson learn and whether it could have been stopped soon enough. the whether it could have been stopped soon enough-— whether it could have been stopped soon enough. the important thing is somethin: soon enough. the important thing is something like _ soon enough. the important thing is something like this _ soon enough. the important thing is something like this must _ soon enough. the important thing is something like this must never - something like this must never happen again and the nhs must learn lessons. that's why the government is launching an inquiry to make sure all the lessons that can be learned will be learned and that all possible action is taken so this can never happen again.— possible action is taken so this can never happen again. letby, a nurse in charue never happen again. letby, a nurse in charge of— never happen again. letby, a nurse in charge of the _ never happen again. letby, a nurse in charge of the most _ never happen again. letby, a nurse in charge of the most vulnerable i in charge of the most vulnerable among us. instead of coming to work to care, she came to kill. with more on this, we'rejoined now by damian grammaticus. so many questions now. one of those is the status of the inquiry that has been announced.— is the status of the inquiry that has been announced. yes, that's ri . ht. has been announced. yes, that's right- what _ has been announced. yes, that's right. what we _ has been announced. yes, that's right. what we have _ has been announced. yes, that's right. what we have is _ has been announced. yes, that's right. what we have is this - right. what we have is this independent public inquiry that the government has ordered to look at the handling of this case, look at the handling of this case, look at the way the trust and the manager is dealt with those concerns raised by the consultants, and to learn lessons from that. the question somehow grade is should this have a higher status, should this be a statutory inquiry? —— the question that some have raised. it would mean people would be compelled to produce evidence to the inquiry. the flip of that, the government said that is much more complicated, takes much longer, and means the lessons learned take more time to feed through into the system. if you think back, there are precedents to this. in 1991, nurse beverley alex, she was convicted of killing four children. and harming seven others. —— beverley allitt. the independent inquiry reported within a year and came back with a dozen recommendations. that inquiry did say that if there was someone determined to cause harm, systems may never be able to stop that. again, doctor harold shipman, the beginning of the 20005, convicted of killing 15 patients at, again an independent inquiry, that had six or seven report5 independent inquiry, that had six or seven reports over a number of years, looking at his actions, the fact he may have killed over 200 people, that inquiry found. the question i get is speed versus detail, and compelling people. the government said in this case it wants a quicker inquiry. —— i guess. we are expecting the sentencing, but again questions as to why lucy letby will not be appearing. yes. again questions as to why lucy letby will not be appearing.— will not be appearing. yes. i mean, the issue there _ will not be appearing. yes. i mean, the issue there is _ will not be appearing. yes. i mean, the issue there is it's _ will not be appearing. yes. i mean, the issue there is it's her— will not be appearing. yes. i mean, the issue there is it's her choice, i the issue there is it's her choice, and she is saying she's not going to do that. the question then, should something be done about that? question has been around for some time. last year there thenjustice time. last year there then justice secretary dominic raab said he was determined to do something, he wanted to compel people who are convicted to appear at sentencing in court. he was talking about introducing legislation, that hasn't happened yet. the labour party very critical of that, saying the government has been dragging its feet, saying they should produce a detailed timetable. the government says, in the light of this case, it is looking at this, and talking about trying to introduce something at the end of the year, saying it is determined to do so. that would mean probably into next year when legislation would be debated, looked at. that puts it in the run—up to an election. it might be a political sort of time that the parties would want to be seen to be focusing on this issue. but the question then, with that, is, what would the legislation actually do? it's difficult to compel someone to be in court. if you put them in court, they could be very disruptive. so what is likely to be the case is legislation may look at something like playing judges would have the power to increase a sentence if someone refuses to attend and to hear the family impact assessment statements. families sometimes frustrated at how their statements are not being heard by someone refusing to be in court.— are not being heard by someone refusing to be in court. live now to sir robert francis, who in 2013 published a damning report on the failures of another nhs trust — the mid staffordshire foundation trust. just remind us why that inquiry was launched. ,., ., ., ., ,., launched. good morning. the reason was that it was _ launched. good morning. the reason was that it was discovered _ launched. good morning. the reason was that it was discovered there - launched. good morning. the reason was that it was discovered there was| was that it was discovered there was a high level of mortality at this hospital, which couldn't really be explained. it turned out the figures had been dismissed. eventually the relatives of deceased people mounted a huge protest. as a result of that, an inquiry was held, which uncovered many aspects of weakness in leadership, failure to give priority to patients as opposed to targets. and a number of other issues, which led to me having to make 290 recommendations for changing things, principal being the duty of candour, with professionals and hospitals needing to be open and frank about things that had gone wrong, but also a culture whereby, when things had gone wrong, they would be investigated properly so that lessons could be learned early, and steps put in place to prevent things happening again. steps put in place to prevent things happening again-— happening again. there were 290 recommendations _ happening again. there were 290 recommendations from _ happening again. there were 290 recommendations from that - happening again. there were 290 i recommendations from that inquiry report. 290. when you look at what we heard yesterday, the guilty verdict, what has the nhs learned? to be fair, i think the nhs has learned a great deal. a horrible case like this, and of course one's feelings are entirely with their families at an awful time like this, it's very rare indeed, and as with the beverley allitt case, it may be difficult if not impossible to stop such a very rare case coming through. but what stands out to me is a question that needs to be looked into is when senior doctors, not one or two but several, appear to have raised concerns about what was happening, even though they didn't know why necessarily things were happening, there was a need to investigate that properly. by which i mean notjust starting from the understandable feeling that a really nice nurse surely couldn't be capable of doing this sort of thing, but to start on a priority of looking at what the risk to patients was. if you start by thinking, what do i need to know in order to protect patients from risk? what you need is an objective investigation, proportional, but undertaken by people who are fully trained and qualified to do such an investigation. i don't know whether that happened here, but i rather doubt that it did. you that happened here, but i rather doubt that it did.— that happened here, but i rather doubt that it did. you said at the time, doubt that it did. you said at the time. and _ doubt that it did. you said at the time. and i'm — doubt that it did. you said at the time, and i'm using _ doubt that it did. you said at the time, and i'm using your- doubt that it did. you said at the time, and i'm using your reportl doubt that it did. you said at the i time, and i'm using your report as doubt that it did. you said at the . time, and i'm using your report as a basis for what we are discussing now, because itjust sounds like a carbon copy of this terrible story involving lucy letby... the fault lines lie with the ward, that was one of the findings. there needed to be fundamental changes in culture where patients were put first. in this case, these were the most vulnerable of patient playback, they had no voice apart from their screens. why is it that senior management are still able to silence their peers in coming forward and reporting concerns? —— the most vulnerable of patients. they had no voice apart from their screams. it’s voice apart from their screams. it's uuite voice apart from their screams. it�*s quite difficult for people to believe the enormity of what was going on. also we have to remember it took nine months at a trial, to take the forensic detail which allowed thejury to take the forensic detail which allowed the jury to come to the verdicts that it did... this was no simple thing to look into or fixed. but i do think that if you start, if the management starts with the proposition that we must do everything we can to protect the most vulnerable people in our society in their care, then you have to look at risk. you have to start from a position where you are not necessarily seeking to prove beyond reasonable doubt that something wrong is happening, but you need to look at what steps need to be taken to protect people from the risk that something awful is happening. if you start from that, then i think you come to a position sooner rather than later. and what you don't do is you don't start from looking at the personalities involved. and actually at looking at who is to blame. you need to look for the explanations as to why something has happened. when a baby died and there is no explanation for the death, that is about as serious an incident as you can have, it seems to me, and requires the devotion of a lot of resource to find the explanation. in a case such as this, i don't know, none of us know yet, that would be for the review to find out, but at the end of the day, if you had eliminated all explanations other than human intervention by one person, then you have enough of a case... even if you can't prove that in a criminal court, you have enough of a case to take immediate steps to protect patients, that is the priority. in protect patients, that is the riori . . protect patients, that is the riori . , ., protect patients, that is the riori. , ,, priority. in terms of those steps, at the time _ priority. in terms of those steps, at the time when _ priority. in terms of those steps, at the time when we _ priority. in terms of those steps, at the time when we discussed i at the time when we discussed fundamental change... 0ne at the time when we discussed fundamental change... one of the findings was, the scandal shouldn't be seen as a one off, as we have clearly seen here. one of the questions was, in terms of accountability, should people remain in post? we understand some of those individuals have since left this particular trust. however, individuals have since left this particulartrust. however, depending on the results of the inquiry, should people step down? because, at the time, your report said that this may not necessarily be needed. what about this time around? i may not necessarily be needed. what about this time around?— about this time around? i think there are a _ about this time around? i think there are a number _ about this time around? i think there are a number of - about this time around? i think there are a number of different forms of accountability. none of which should be ruled out. the first level of accountability for anyone who has the care and responsibility to look after vulnerable people is to look after vulnerable people is to explain what they did and why they did it. that is a form of accountability. in a way, that's why there is a duty for people to be utterly frank with whatever�*s review or inquiry takes place. there also needs to be, where appropriate, an acceptance of responsibility. where things could have been done better, and that lessons need to be learned. and there is a third level of accountability, which is where people fail to recognise their responsibility, and have not apparently learned the lessons, and have not got the relevant insight, then the questions have to be asked about whether they are fit and proper to be in the service. but i don't think you start from that position. 0ne don't think you start from that position. one of the problems with safety is if you start from a position where what we are doing is looking for people to blame and to sack, everyone becomes defensive, you get cover—ups, and there has been suggestions of that happening here. and actually you end up not learning the lesson, not finding out the truth. so while accountability in the sense of people losing their jobs certainly shouldn't be eliminated, that shouldn't be the objective of the inquiry. it shouldn't be the objective. shouldn't be the ob'ective. sorry... just one shouldn't be the ob'ective. sorry... just final — shouldn't be the objective. sorry... just one final question. _ shouldn't be the objective. sorry... just one final question. when - shouldn't be the objective. sorry... just one final question. when we . just one final question. when we talk about fit and proper people to be in post, one of the main discussions, i am sure you are aware of this, concerning the nhs is the levels of management we have seen growing. i read a figure that it has doubled the number of consultants and doctors within the nhs. are they fit and proper to manage the nhs? do they have the proper medical context to understand the nuances of the environment? 0rare to understand the nuances of the environment? or are theyjust managers? environment? or are they 'ust managemfi environment? or are they 'ust managers? the answer to that, something _ managers? the answer to that, something as — managers? the answer to that, something as complicated - managers? the answer to that, something as complicated as i managers? the answer to that, l something as complicated as the managers? the answer to that, - something as complicated as the nhs needs both, feis and old who are expert at medicine but also people expert at medicine but also people expert in running things, and they are not necessarily the same people. —— people who are expert at medicine. it should be the medical people whose views take priority at the medicine. sometimes in the nhs, the medicine. sometimes in the nhs, the management priorities, meeting targets, making the books balance and so on, comes a priority, and it's quite easy for people to forget their real priority, which is the interest of the patients they are meant to be serving. 5ir interest of the patients they are meant to be serving.— meant to be serving. sir robert francis, chair— meant to be serving. sir robert francis, chair of _ meant to be serving. sir robert francis, chair of the _ meant to be serving. sir robert francis, chair of the francis - francis, chair of the francis review, thank you very much indeed. police investigating the murder of a 10—year—old girl in surrey in the south—east of england say they want to speak to her father, stepmother and uncle. they flew to pakistan the day before sara sharif�*s body was found with extensive injuries at her home in woking. joe inwood reports. when police found sara sharif�*s body, she was all alone. they'd received a 999 call that led them to this house in woking. today, officers revealed the call was placed from pakistan by sara's father, urfan sharif, where he'd travelled with his partner and the rest of the family. we have identified three people we'd like to speak to as part of the ongoing investigation — sara's father, urfan sharif, his partner, beinash batool, and urfan's brother, faisal malik. it's believed urfan travelled to islamabad in pakistan in company with his partner and his brother on wednesday august 9th. that was the day before sara's body was found. police say the postmortem has not yet established how she died, but it has given a glimpse into the suffering she had endured. the postmortem did, however, reveal that sara had suffered multiple and extensive injuries which are now likely to have been caused over a sustained and extended period of time. the fact that we now know that sara had suffered injuries over an extended period has significantly changed the nature of our investigation, and we have widened the timescale and the focus of our inquiry. flowers remain outside the house where sara lived and died. 0ne bunch left by her mother, 0lga, read, "sleep sweetly, my darling daughter — you are an angel in heaven now and watching over us from above." joe inwood, bbc news. we can cross live now to woking and our reporter, leigh milner. i see you are standing just shy of the house where her body was discovered. the the house where her body was discovered.— the house where her body was discovered. ~ ., , ., _ discovered. we have been told by olice discovered. we have been told by police how _ discovered. we have been told by police how they — discovered. we have been told by police how they came _ discovered. we have been told by police how they came to - discovered. we have been told by police how they came to find - discovered. we have been told by police how they came to find herl police how they came to find her body. in this house right behind me. what we have been told is someone called 999 from pakistan, and that person was in fact sydney '5 father, 41—year—old urfan sharif. —— was in fact sydney '5 father. —— was in fact sydney '5 father. —— was in fact sara's father. inaudible. we also know a postmortem examination has happened on sara's body. they haven't yet found out the cause of death, but police did find out some rather disturbing details... inaudible. she suffered multiple and extensive injuries over a sustained period. that has significantly changed the nature of this police investigation. going forward, if these individuals are found, it is important to say that this is going to be a very tricky situation of how they are going to get them home, without volunteering it would most likely involve extradition. and for that to happen, there would have to be enough evidence to convince the courts in both the uk and pakistan. and because there is no extradition treaty between pakistan and the uk, this whole process could take years. thank you very much. north america is dealing with devastating weather events thousands of miles apart. evacuations continue in canada as the province of british columbia deals with wildfires. meanwhile, in northwest mexico and the neighbouring us state of california, residents are bracing for a powerful hurricane. president biden has been speaking about preparations. i also want to note that my team is closely monitoring hurricane hilary, which has the potential to bring significant rain and flooding to southern california. fema has prepositioned personnel and supplies in the region, and they are ready to respond as needed. i urge everyone, everyone in the path of the store and to take precautions and listen to the guidance of state and local officials. david roth is a weather forecaster. the storm is moving northward and is expected near the coast of baja california peninsula at about... i guess that would be on sunday morning. and the centre itself is going to scrape the coast up towards southern california. now, once you get north, the point, eugenia, which is that little peninsula right in the middle of baja thatjuts out into the pacific, the water temperatures get very cold. so we're going to have the combination of cold water, increasing vertical wind shear from the upper level, low and upper level trough up to its north—northwest that's pulling it northward, and land interaction with the peninsula ranges of baja california that extend into the southern part of the state of california and the united states, they're all going to work to weaken the system. it's probably not going to have a whole lot of central thunderstorm activity by the time it gets to southern california. but that's not really where we're expecting the main threat. we're expecting the main threat to be from all this moisture, instability and strong winds that are coming up from the gulf of california to the east of baja. they already saw an uptick in shower and thunderstorm activity today across southern nevada and portions of arizona. and that should really increase over the next few days. sunday and monday, you're expected to be the worst days for heavy rainfall. and the general forecast calls for 75—150mm of rainfalljust broadly with local amounts of 250mm. now, if we were in the southern and eastern united states, this might havejust a modest impact depending on the place, 24 21t on the website, you can keep up—to—date with the latest storage. we are looking ahead to the international on sunday of the women's world cup. that is all on bbc news. —— the latest stories. after a very stormy start to the weekend, it looks like conditions will come down with sunshine and showers for the rest of today and into tomorrow. tomorrow looks like it would be the best day of the weekend with more sunshine than showers. this deep area of low pressure was named the irish met service as storm betty, some gales in the irish sea and heavy rain across the country, very wet across northern ireland. the heaviest rain across the northern isles, still hanging back across central western scotland, showers and long spells of rain, remaining blustery but not as windy as overnight and this morning. northern ireland, much of england and wales, apart from a few blustery showers in the west, it will be fine with sunny spells. warm in the south—east, 25 degrees, low 205 in the north and west. this evening and overnight, quite freely across the north—west, a few showers, may the odd one in western england and wales, most places drive. mist and fog in the south of the winds get lighter. quite mild overnight for most, not as humid as the previous night. —— most places drive. some date of the women's world cup final in sydney. it will be fine with the evening sunshine. quite blustery. 0n evening sunshine. quite blustery. on our shores, also fine. if you have any barbecues through the day, it will be a good one. plenty of sunshine. showers in the north and west, the odd one in the east, but many places staying dry and feeling warm. low 205 across scotland and northern ireland. the winds a bit lighterfor all. northern ireland. the winds a bit lighterforall. next week, low pressure in the north—west, higher pressure in the north—west, higher pressure in the near continent influencing southern and eastern parts. the best of the weather on monday, tuesday and wednesday across southern and eastern parts of england, feeling quite warm. monday looks quite wet in scotland and northern ireland, longer spells of rain and quite blustery and windy again. the low 205 here, but very warm in the south—east, up to 27. the cooler air and showers start to filter southwards and eastwards as we reach the end of the week. all areas will be cooler and showery. this is bbc news. the headlines... and the uk government is set to launch an independent inquiry into how nurse, lucy letby, came to murder seven neonatal babies in her care. the inquiry will review why concerns raised about her were not taken seriously by management at the countess of chester hospital. uk police investigating the murder of ten—year—old sara sharif, found dead in a house in woking, say they want to speak to three people in connection with the death. an international search is under way for sara's father, step—mother and uncle. hurricane hilary heads towards north—west mexico — later expected to track to california and nevada. it'll weaken to a tropical storm but still bringing the risk of devastating flash flooding and strong winds. the british government has ordered an independent inquiry into how a nurse came to murder seven newborn babies in her care and tried to kill another six. lucy letby was found guilty after a trial in manchester which lasted ten months. while lucy letby has been convicted of seven murders, the bbc has learned there were actually 13 deaths on the neonatal unit where she worked in a one year period. that's five times the usual rate, and lucy letby was on duty for all of them. an investigation by bbc news and bbc panorama has also revealed that doctors on the unit were raising concerns for months about letby