LUCY LETBY SENT DR MARK DEAKIN A MESSAGE ABOUT BABY N AFTER THE INFANT COLLAPSED — BUT ONE QUESTION SHE ASKED HAS NOW TAKEN ON A MUCH DARKER MEANING

Lucy Letby sent a message to Dr Mark Deakin about Baby N after the infant suffered a sudden deterioration.

At the time, it may have appeared to be another worried exchange between two hospital colleagues.

Years later, however, the message was examined during the Thirlwall Inquiry — after Letby had been convicted of attempting to murder Baby N.

And one question stood out.

Letby asked Dr Deakin whether she had done anything wrong.

THE MESSAGE ABOUT BABY N

Baby N was an infant being treated at the Countess of Chester Hospital in June 2016.

Letby was later convicted of attempting to murder him following a series of sudden deteriorations.

During the period surrounding Baby N’s treatment, Letby contacted Dr Deakin, a junior doctor who had become unusually close to her.

According to evidence heard by the inquiry, Letby asked about Baby N’s condition — but also questioned whether she herself had done anything wrong in caring for him.

Dr Deakin replied:

“Oh Lucy, poor little thing. I am sure he has had the best care possible and you will have done everything you could for him.”

At the time, he was reassuring a colleague.

But the exchange would later become part of a much more troubling examination of what information had been shared between the two.

“IN HINDSIGHT, NO”

When the exchange was examined during the Thirlwall Inquiry in October 2024, Dr Deakin was asked whether his response had been appropriate.

His answer was striking.

“In hindsight, no.”

He acknowledged that he had shared too much information with Letby.

He also told the inquiry that he had not been aware of the full clinical picture and had been “misled and maybe manipulated” into providing information about babies who had suffered serious incidents.

The inquiry heard that Letby and Deakin exchanged 1,355 Facebook messages between June and September 2016.

Their conversations ranged from personal matters to discussions concerning babies who had collapsed while they were working together.

THEIR RELATIONSHIP CAME UNDER SCRUTINY

Deakin had been known publicly during Letby’s criminal trial only as “Dr A.”

The pair had developed a close relationship while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

Prosecutors later suggested that Letby had become infatuated with him and that gaining his attention was part of the motive behind her actions.

Letby denied having a romantic relationship with Deakin, maintaining that they were friends.

The evidence nevertheless showed an unusually close relationship, including hundreds of personal messages, meetings outside work and conversations involving patients.

WHAT HAPPENED AFTER LETBY LEFT THE NEONATAL UNIT?

The relationship did not end when Letby was removed from clinical duties.

Deakin supported her grievance concerning her removal from the neonatal unit and later arranged observational visits for her at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.

At that point, Letby was no longer working directly with patients at the Countess of Chester.

The Thirlwall Inquiry later examined whether Deakin understood the concerns that had already been raised about her.

An investigation by Alder Hey eventually concluded that Deakin had breached Baby N’s confidentiality and had inappropriately accessed medical records.

He was dismissed for gross misconduct in June 2026.

THE QUESTION THAT LOOKS DIFFERENT YEARS LATER

That is what makes the Baby N exchange so unsettling.

At the time, Letby’s question could have been interpreted as anxiety from a nurse worried that something had gone wrong during a baby’s treatment.

But after her conviction for attempting to murder Baby N, the same words were examined in an entirely different context.

Why was she asking whether she had done anything wrong?

The inquiry did not establish that the message itself proves wrongdoing.

But it became part of the broader record surrounding Letby’s relationship with Deakin, the information he shared with her and the concerns that later emerged about how much he knew.

Letby continues to maintain that she did not harm the babies in her care.

She is currently serving 15 whole-life sentences after being convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others.

Her case is also being reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission after her direct appeals were unsuccessful.

And now, with Dr Mark Deakin’s identity no longer protected following his death, the messages once hidden behind the name “Dr A” are receiving renewed scrutiny.

One of them begins with a question that, years later, is impossible to read in quite the same way:

“Have I done anything wrong?”