'Pain endured by the families of victims of Lucy Letby must now force change'

'Pain endured by the families of victims of Lucy Letby must now force change' The deaths of three babies at the hands of Lucy Letby could have been prevented if police were called in sooner, an inquiry prompted by the child serial killer’s crimes has found Every parent who places a desperately ill newborn into the hands of a hospital does so with absolute trust. The Thirlwall Inquiry has laid bare how catastrophically that trust was betrayed at the Countess of Chester Hospital. Babies who should have been protected were left exposed by a system that failed at every level. Warnings were missed, suspicions were ignored, and parents were kept in the dark for years. Lady Justice Thirlwall’s verdict of a “complete failure to protect babies” should haunt the NHS. Nothing can undo the suffering of those families, or answer the unbearable question of how many lives might have been saved. But their pain must now force change. Safeguarding cannot be treated as paperwork, guidance or someone else’s responsibility. It must be the first duty of every hospital, every manager and every clinician. When concerns are raised, action must be immediate, independent and unavoidable. No hierarchy, reputation or fear of embarrassment can come before a child’s safety. Pensions reform must be fair A £500-a-year rise in the state pension will be welcome to millions of retirees still struggling with food, energy and council tax bills. The Government has promised that pensioners whose sole income is the state pension will not be dragged into paying income tax simply because their income exceeds the £12,570 threshold. That reassurance matters. But the picture is less clear for those with modest workplace pensions, deferred payments or additional state pension entitlements, who could still face an unexpected tax bill. Ministers must spell out exactly who is protected and who is not. There is also a bigger debate coming. The triple lock has protected pensioners well, but its cost is climbing sharply. Any future reform must be fair, sustainable and, above all, protect the poorest pensioners first. Fox gives those with Parkinson’s hope Michael J Fox has spent decades turning a cruel diagnosis into hope for millions. His Emmy speech, and the tears it brought, showed the courage behind that fight. By refusing to surrender to Parkinson’s and raising £1.58 billion for research, he has given sufferers something precious - hope.