Evening Briefing Tuesday 15th September

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0:35This is the Times Radio Evening Briefing for Tuesday 15th September. The inquiry into Lucy Letby's murders at the Countess of Chester Hospital has found two babies would have survived and five others would not have been attacked if senior hospital staff had acted on warnings of deliberate harm. A third baby killed by Letby may also have survived and two others may have not been attacked. Lady Justice Thurwell, who led the report, says safeguarding steps were not taken by hospital management when concerns were voiced by consultants. The way Letby's grievance and its consequences were handled was deplorable.

1:13Ultimately, some consultants were told to apologise to her and to enter mediation. Plans were being made to return her to the neonatal unit. By the beginning of 2017, the hospital was far adrift from the correct course of a responsible and prompt response to serious concerns raised by consultants about the safety of babies. Lady Justice Thurwell has made 17 recommendations which include CCTV for all cots and incubators in all neonatal units, which Health Secretary Yvette Cooper has promised to implement. Times Radio's Deputy Head of News, Alex Dibble, explains why there was opposition to the report taking place.

1:55If the Criminal Cases Review Commission does refer Lucy Letby's conviction back to the Court of Appeal, and if the Court of Appeal were to quash her convictions or to order a retrial or something of that nature, it is possible that we could be in a position where Lucy Letby is declared legally innocent. Her team, and also the former senior executives at the Countess of Chester Hospital, said to Lady Justice Thurwell, if she's found to be innocent, the report will be worthless. It will be based on a false premise. She rejected those calls but also the families said this report needs to continue.

2:27Reform Wales leader Dan Thomas has stepped down from his position after being reported to the police over the weekend. In a statement Mr Thomas said he was reported to the police and later released without charge, stressing that he had done nothing wrong. He added he was resigning for personal reasons to prevent the situation from becoming a distraction from the Work of Reform's Senedd team. A record number of people in England and Wales are entitled to personal independence payments, known as PIP, the benefits intended to help people suffering with long-term physical or mental health conditions with everyday tasks and living costs.

3:01Official figures show there are now just over 4 million claimants. The interim findings of a Government Commission review branded the system no longer fit for purpose. Job vacancies are at a five-year low and unemployment remained at 4.9 % in the three months to July. Meanwhile, the government has promised pensioners with no other income that they will be excluded from paying tax on the full new state pension. It's after official figures paved the way for an inflation-beating increase above the tax-free personal allowance. Denmark says a Russian warship has fired two emergency flares at one of its helicopters while it was tracking the ship in the Baltic Sea.

3:41Russia has pledged to thoroughly investigate the incident. You can hear more of these stories throughout the evening on Times Radio.

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