Lucy Letby bill: Serial killer racked up £1million legal aid bill during 10-month trial for killing seven babies
SERIAL killer nurse Lucy Letby racked up a £1million legal aid bill during her 10-month trial for murdering seven babies.
The taxpayer-funded seven-figure costs have been revealed weeks after Letby was jailed for life with no parole for her evil crimes.
It comes on top of the £2.5million spent on prosecuting the 33-year-old who had pleaded not guilty, as revealed by The Sun yesterday.
The nurse's lawyers were paid at least £980,133.92 in legal aid, reported tonight.
The figure came from the Ministry of Justice in response to a Freedom of Information request.
It was unclear whether Letby would be repaying any of the legal aid.
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Defendants facing a crown court trial are eligible for aid but can be made to pay contributions up to the full cost if found guilty of at least once charge.
The MoJ said her legal aid included £4,244.68 at a police station and £975,889.24 to her solicitor and barrister at Manchester Crown Court.
Conservative MP Alec Shelbrooke has described the £2.5million costs to the Crown Prosecution Service as "shocking", saying they show "the psychopathy of Lucy Letby lasted until the end".
Letby, originally from Hereford, was found guilty last month of murdering seven babies and the attempted murder of seven more at the Countess of Chester Hospital in Cheshire.
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She was given 14 whole-life orders for her crimes and told she would die behind bars.
Letby refused to attend court when the judge delivered his sentence, prompting families' anger.
There had been tears in court as powerful victim impact statements were read by bereaved relatives of her victims.
Analysts have suggested Letby's possible motives could include an "obsession" with a doctor at the hospital and enjoyment of a sick "thrill".
She is serving her sentence at Low Newton prison in County Durham, previously home to Rose West and where triple-killer Joanna Dennehy is now a fellow inmate.
West, Dennehy and Moors murderer Myra Hindley are the only women other than Letby to receive a whole-life order in Britain.
After last month's verdicts, the government announced an inquiry into the Letby case - and last week granted it legal powers to compel witnesses to give evidence.
