Welcome to this bumper September 2026 newsletter, a month with much to digest.
Thirlwall Inquiry:
First and foremost we must start with the Thirlwall Inquiry report, released on 15 September 2026. The statutory requirement, chaired by Lady Justice Thirlwall, began two years ago to examine events at the Countess of Chester Hospital. Its full terms of reference can be viewed by clicking on the link below:
https://thirlwall.public-inquiry.uk/about/terms-of-reference/
Despite huge amounts of misinformed online commentary, the inquiry was a legal reality that had no option other than to be predicated on the assumption of guilt. Like everyone campaigning for Lucy, I hate how we ever got here in the first place, but I blame the flawed police investigation and shambolic trial for that. I do not blame one lady doing her job!
The 17 core recommendations in the report unsurprisingly left much food for thought and it is impossible to cover them all in a newsletter, set up only to summarise the key events relevant to Lucy on a monthly basis. So let’s instead pick out the three most talked about recommendations:
Insulin: The report stated that more robust steps must be taken regarding the access and storage of insulin and that all unexplained / unexpected results should be communicated urgently to the responsible consultant and recorded within the laboratory information management system.
These are good ideas that should have been implemented years ago. No issues here.
Monitoring: All cots and incubators on neonatal units should be fitted with monitors, so that parents can observe their baby remotely at any time.
To many, that may sound like a very good idea in principle but all it really does is fearmonger and put additional burden on already exhausted parents to monitor their babies around the clock.
Because the footage will be live-streamed only and not stored, it would also be of no real evidential value in a criminal trial.
Only a proper CCTV system covering every square inch of every hospital ward would have a functional effect, but that would be both logistically challenging and of a huge cost to the tax payer, hence why there was no mention of it.
Safeguarding: Any staff member suspected of causing deliberate harm must be removed immediately from the unit as a "neutral act," and suspicion only is enough to take such action.
Again, to many people this may sound sensible but it is in fact extremely worrying! Do we really want to live in a society where suspicion is enough to destroy a person? Do we really want to lose more homegrown staff because they fear they could be the next scapegoat?
This utterly ridiculous notion plays straight into the hands of the workplace bullies and puts those in the most vulnerable positions right in harm’s way. Massively open to abuse!!
Here is a link to the full list of recommendations on the Thirlwall Inquiry website for you to have a look at and analyse at your own leisure:
https://thirlwall.public-inquiry.uk/final-report-chapter/volume-iii/part-three/recommendations/
CoCH Review:
With the Thirlwall Inquiry at last over and done with, the Yellow Butterfly Group believes that there should now be a completely independent review of the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neonatal and related maternity services. It should be conducted on the same terms as Donna Ockenden's investigations at the Shrewsbury, Telford and Nottingham hospitals.
Any potential review should also be equally independent, clinically led, and wide-ranging. It should examine ALL the cases of deaths and collapses on the neonatal unit over an appropriate time period and Lucy’s name should be left completely out of it.
Instead, establishing facts about care standards, mortality patterns and investigation quality should be at the heart of any such investigation and it should ideally be led by Ms Ockenden to ensure the continuity and impartiality that she has the best track record of delivering.
Channel 5 Documentary:
Aired on 21 September 2026, this new documentary titled “Lucy Letby - Scapegoat?” was produced and fronted by the Sun’s investigative journalist, Rob Pattinson.
Very much in favour of Lucy’s innocence, it struck the right balance for those of us who have been diligently following the case for years now and, more crucially, those who perhaps just tuned in by pure chance or out of curiosity. What better way to highlight the many flaws in the evidence to new people than a well produced mainstream TV documentary?
The first half took us right back to the basics of the case, looking at the known hospital failings, the staff rota sheet and the infamous green post-it note. Michele Worden, along with Professor Jane Hutton and Professor Gisli Gudjonsson, all made excellent contributions in their own areas of expertise, tackling all of the issues above.
Things then got even more interesting in the second half when we were told about the new claims regarding the crucial insulin readings and also an email that appears to contradict a key piece of evidence used against Lucy in court.
But without question, the highlight of the program had to be the face to face debate between the chief prosecution witness, Dr Dewi Evans, and the retired vascular surgeon, Dr Colin Ferguson. Things got a little heated during their discussion about air embolism, but I will let you decide for yourself who came out on top!
In my own personal opinion, it was by far the best documentary to date and it is a must see for all. With that in mind, please encourage your family and friends to watch it too. Here is the link to pass onto them:
https://www.channel5.com/show/lucy-letby-scapegoat#state=5
IFAD:
After a late but necessary change of plan, three of us headed north of the border to Edinburgh on 9 September 2026. It was our third consecutive appearance at International Falsely Accused Day after previously attending the event in London last year and Liverpool in 2024.
Despite it being our first time in Scotland, we were soon made to feel very welcome by a passionate crowd of around 60 people. The fairly new group, Justice for Innocent Men in Scotland (JIMS), was particularly well represented on the lovely sunny day in the Scottish capital.
As things got underway, we heard more tragic tales of false allegations and wrongful convictions that we are becoming so used to hearing now. Some of the stories were so harrowing that they brought tears to the eyes of those telling them and even some of us listening.
My speech mainly focused on the shared justice problems in England and Scotland, comparing our many flaws that have led to a considerable number of miscarriages of justice on either side of the boundary.
With regards to Lucy, I was a little unsure how well known her case was, so I talked briefly about the hostile media treatment she received in the very immediate aftermath of her original guilty verdicts and then through to the growing post-trial concerns raised by a number of experts in a multitude of specialist areas.
After the speeches were finished, we were approached by quite a few people who already knew a fair bit about the case and they had a few questions of their own that we were happy to answer. It’s fair to say that nobody was left in any doubt of the truth by the time the event came to a close and it was time to go home.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank two wonderful ladies, Lyn and Felicity, who made the day possible and showed immeasurable loyalty to the Yellow Butterfly Group in the build up. They really do deserve a medal for the incredible work they do as volunteers all year round.
The footage of my speech will be posted on our YouTube channel next weekend.
Petition:
Mainly due to the success of the Channel 5 documentary, the petition signatures have increased by over 2600 in the last few days, taking us to a total of 30,407 at the time of writing. Although it didn’t go viral as we hoped it would, that is still an amazing rise that we should all be proud of.
At this point, I’d like to give a special mention to Graham and Mia, who have both been pushing the petition like hell on YouTube and Facebook. Their shares this week have contributed massively to this latest surge in numbers, so on behalf of the whole Yellow Butterfly Group, thank you both so very much for all your help in putting it out there.
We’d also like to thank the Road to Freedom admins for their continued support of all YB content on their Facebook page. They do a superb job in providing such a safe and informative platform for everyone looking to share their content and also for those who would just like to discuss the latest case news.
YouTube:
Next month there will be a double release on our YouTube channel in the form of my speech in Edinburgh and a new hard hitting song and music video in support of Lucy.
Please subscribe to our channel if you haven’t already done so by clicking on the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/@TheYellowButterflyGroup
And so, that brings to a close yet another rollercoaster month of ups and downs, but I’m sure we can all agree the net gains were very much in Lucy’s favour overall and that's what counts.
It doesn’t matter if you helped your grandma to sign the petition or you produced a mainstream TV documentary, collectively we can all play a part in this struggle to see justice finally prevail for Lucy Letby.
Christopher Logan (Yellow Butterfly Group founder and campaign lead)
Note: this newsletter is 100% AI free and all opinions, unless stated, are my own.