Welcome to the July 2026 newsletter.
File on 4 Documentary:
BBC Radio 4's File on 4 Investigates looked at the broader maternity care failings at the Countess of Chester Hospital (CoCH) before, during and after Lucy’s employment.
Presented by Stephanie Hegarty, the programme spoke to three families who gave four of the most horrific accounts of care on the maternity and neonatal units you could ever imagine. Two of which were tragically fatal.
Staffing issues, poor medical care and delays in treatment, were a constant feature of their interviews and although none of the families were part of the indictment against Lucy, their stories screamed the truth of what really happened in those fateful 13 months between June 2015 and June 2016.
In response to the findings, the CoCH's deputy chief executive, Sue Pembleton, apologised unreservedly to the families who had a poor experience in their care and stated that improvements have been made, with the trust now nationally accredited for its family-integrated care approach. Wow, just wow!!
The program also uncovered new details that the lead prosecution witness, Dr Dewi Evans, was not presented with the full maternity notes, nor were they passed onto Lucy’s original defence team. This is staggering and begs the question, how on earth could a full and honest picture ever be achieved, when a person’s very liberty hangs in the balance?
There is no doubt that this is a very upsetting program, but I do encourage everyone to put aside 40 minutes to have a listen. Here is a link to the full documentary on BBC Sounds:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002z746
Sir David Davis:
For a third time now, Sir David Davis came out to bat for Lucy in Parliament and as ever, he did not disappoint.
This time he raised the matter of the Thirlwall Inquiry’s terms of reference, warning of the consequences of not broadening the scope of the inquiry and taking into account all of the post-trial expert opinion that has emerged.
He then suggested that the following three areas should added to the inquiry in the interests of searching for a truth, rather than just protecting a conclusion:
- The staffing crisis
- Poor clinical management
- Environmental risks
Among several other things, Sir David also brought up the similarities of the two recent NHS reviews at other hospitals led by Donna Ockenden and Baroness Amos and pseudomonas bacteria being present in the taps of the neonatal unit at the CoCH at the time of the spike in deaths in 2015-16.
I personally think the likelihood of the Thirlwall Inquiry taking on board Sir David’s recommendations is low, given the stubborn resistance they have shown to everything that doesn’t fit their playbook so far. But what I will say is that of all the arguments I have heard to expand the terms of reference, these are by far the most constructive and rational and will end up on the right side of history - no matter what!
Thank you Sir David.
Here is a YouTube link for those of you who would like to watch the debate in full:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WyoXOMmZWo&t=116s
Petition:
Like last month, this month has been quite slow for new signatures, but we have nonetheless been chipping away at it and we are now less than 80 short of hitting the 24,000 mark.
We are desperate to get it past 25,000 signatures BEFORE the next mainstream TV documentary comes out, because I think there is a high chance it could go viral at that point.
With that in mind, I know so many of you have already gone out of your way to help to get it to where it is now, but I am convinced that between us all, there are still a few more cushions we can look under to get it past that 25,000 threshold.
So again - any relative or friend you can forward it onto, any related group chat you can share it in, any social media or video sharing comment section you can give it a mention in, it will all make that collective difference in getting it over the line and in a position to take it to the next phase.
YouTube:
Thank you to everyone who watched, liked and shared the petition FAQ video we released earlier this month. We smashed all of the targets we set ourselves for each video we put out.
Our next video is due out at the end of August and it will be the third song I have recorded for Lucy. The song itself is all finished, but as you will see, the music video is quite multi-layered and that is what is taking the time to get it finished.
I am going to keep the genre of music a secret until it’s released, but let's just say it couldn’t be any more opposite than the last song!
Here is a link to our YouTube channel for those of you who are not already subscribed:
https://www.youtube.com/@TheYellowButterflyGroup
Thank you again for all the continued support and enjoy the rest of your Sunday.
Christopher Logan (YB Group founder and campaign lead)
Note: This newsletter is completely AI free and all opinions expressed are my own.