Convicted nurse Lucy Letby to face retrial on charge of attempting to murder a newborn baby girl

The first available date for the retrial is 10 June 2024 amid a "huge backlog of cases".

However, Judge Justice Goss KC said any new trial should not take place before judges had decided whether to give Letby permission to appeal against the convictions from her first trial.

Letby, 33, originally from Hereford, was last month found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill a further six at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

She will spend the rest of her life in prison after being sentenced to multiple whole-life terms.

Letby became only the fourth woman in UK history to receive such a sentence.

The jury failed to reach a verdict on six other attempted murder counts.

Prosecutors are not presently seeking a retrial on the five other hung counts.

The former nurse attended the hearing via videolink from a conference room at HMP New Hall in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

She sat behind a desk, confirmed her name and clarified she could hear proceedings.

Letby has filed a formal appeal against her convictions.

However, a date is yet to be set to hear the appeal.

Letby's barrister told the court she maintained her innocence on all charges.

The Department of Health recently confirmed it will launch an independent inquiry into Letby's case.

The probe will examine “the circumstances surrounding the deaths and incidents – including how concerns raised by clinicians were dealt with”.