CCRC chronology
CCRC submission timeline
Every filing on the public record in the Lucy Letby CCRC application, as recorded in the chronology the Criminal Cases Review Commission itself published in January 2026 — an unprecedented step by the Commission, taken to counter possible misunderstandings about processing delays.
Why the CCRC published the chronology
The Commission’s own statement accompanying the chronology emphasised: “We make impartial, evidence-based decisions. We do not make decisions on the basis of external pressure from anyone.” The CCRC clarified that its role is to identify potential miscarriages of justice for appellate-court referral, not to determine guilt or innocence itself. The Commission has since said that further comment on the review will not be provided while the review is under way.
Preliminary application received
The CCRC received the preliminary application on behalf of Lucy Letby on the evening of Monday 3 February 2025.
CCRC requests legal waiver of privilege
The CCRC requested a legal waiver of privilege over the defence files held by Lucy Letby's trial legal team.
Experts' reports received
Independent experts' reports filed in support of the application.
Additional expert reports received
Further independent experts' reports filed.
Main submissions received
The main written submissions from Mark McDonald KC's legal team received.
Further expert report on new topic
Further expert report on a topic not previously covered received.
Notice of forthcoming submissions
Notice from the defence team of forthcoming submissions on an expert report and additional topic.
Further submissions received (not on previously-mentioned topics)
Further written submissions received from the defence team, on matters separate from those previously notified.
Waiver of privilege and defence material received
The legal waiver of privilege over the original trial defence files, and the underlying defence material, received by the CCRC.
CCRC publishes the chronology
The CCRC takes the unprecedented step of publishing the above timeline to counter possible misunderstandings about processing delays. Source: The Justice Gap.
Read this alongside
The CCRC review remains active. Receipt of an application is not a finding; the CCRC refers cases on a “real possibility” test under section 13 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1995, and refers roughly 3% of applications it receives. The Commission has said the review will be lengthy: a source quoted in The Justice Gap indicated the process could take “years, not months”.
Source: Criminal Cases Review Commission published chronology, January 2026; reporting by The Justice Gap and the CCRC’s own announcement of 4 February 2025.