Police interview methodology — leading questions and PEACE-model breaches
The prosecution’s claim: Letby's police interview record was presented as evidence of guilty knowledge and inconsistent accounts.
Prosecution claim
Letby's police interview record was presented as evidence of guilty knowledge and inconsistent accounts.
Counter-evidence
Independent review of the police interview transcripts identifies departures from the PEACE model standards governing investigative interviewing in England and Wales. The PEACE model (Planning, Engage, Account, Closure, Evaluate) requires open-ended questioning, a non-leading approach, and the recording of the interviewee's own account before any account is suggested. Specific instances of leading questions, suggested answers, and pre-interview disclosure of investigator hypotheses have been identified across multiple interview sessions. Interview methodology problems featured prominently in the wrongful-conviction overturning of Tom Hayes (LIBOR, Supreme Court 2025), Stefan Kiszko, Stephen Downing and others; the same methodological framework applies to evaluation of the Letby interview record.
Key point: PEACE-model interviewing requires the interviewee's own account to be recorded before any hypothesis is suggested. Departures from this principle in the Letby interviews are documented and are a recognised mechanism by which apparent inconsistencies are produced.
What the jury heard
Excerpts from police interview transcripts were presented as evidence of inconsistent accounts and guilty knowledge. The PEACE-model framework against which the interview methodology should be assessed was not foregrounded.
What the Panel says
The Panel does not opine on UK police-interview procedure. The methodological framework for assessing interview reliability is well established in the wrongful-conviction literature.
What independent experts add
- Tom Hayes's biography (/people/tom-hayes) covers comparable confession-and-interview problems in the LIBOR case.
- PEACE-model training and standards are documented by the College of Policing.
- Our /analysis/police-interviews-critique page covers the Letby interview record specifically.