Dr Gibbs was one of the first senior consultants to raise concerns about Letby and demanded her removal from the Countess of Chester hospital after a series of unexpected baby deaths
A top doctor who helped convict baby killer nurse Lucy Letby is set to become a priest.
Dr John Gibbs hopes to be ordained to the Church of England after his retirement from the NHS. Tonight, the move has been criticised by supporters of Letby, who have questioned the evidence he put forward which helped secure her convictions for killing newborns.
Dr Gibbs is one of the first senior consultants to raise concerns about Letby and demanded her removal from the Countess of Chester hospital. He gave evidence at her trial and told a public inquiry he felt ashamed for failing to stop the neonatal nurse.
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But international experts who began reviewing the case said it believed no babies were deliberately harmed. The Mirror can reveal Dr Gibbs studied for a theology degree after retiring.
Statistician Professor Richard Gill, who is campaigning for Letby’s release, said his career U-turn “beggars belief.” He added: “My general impression of [Dr Gibbs] is that he feels he has deserved his high social standing and is a pillar of society.
“Hospital consultants form a kind of brotherhood, they know they all make mistakes from time to time but they never blame one another – you won’t hear the whole truth from them.”
A parish newsletter published online shows Dr Gibbs getting stuck in at his local evangelical church in Chester. And in an audio recording on its website, he preaches a sermon on medical ethics.
His clerical career move comes as Letby’s lawyer Mark McDonald continues to submit fresh evidence to the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which investigates potential miscarriages of justice. He gathered a panel of 14 leading paediatric specialists and neonatologists who concluded no babies were deliberately harmed.
The panel members independently reviewed case notes for each baby and agreed their findings would be released whether or not they favoured Letby. Lawyers for the families of Letby’s victims rubbished their findings as “full of analytical holes” and “a rehash” of the defence case heard at trial.
Letby, 35, is serving 15 whole-life orders after murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others.
Dr Gibbs was approached for comment.
