In this episode hosts John Sweeney and Ed Abel Smith ask critical questions of the Cheshire Police investigation into the state of the neonatal clinic at the Countess of Chester Hospital: why did the coppers plump for the conclusion of a serial killer at large? Why did they hire, then fire a professor of statistics and not tell the defence? And did the police understand the complex medical reality, that the unit was looking after very sick premature babies, some of which had every chance of dying naturally? This is an independent podcast production, to support our work please visit our Crowdfunder 

In episode 2 - After a spike in deaths in the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015, hospital bosses called in a team of independent expert doctors to find the root cause. Their report was damning, criticising environment, staffing and the consultants doing two scheduled ward rounds a week - the standard is two a day. The consultants pointed to a killer nurse on the loose. But did they have skin in the game? This podcast is a self funded independent production.  To support our journalism please donate via our Crowdfunder - https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/lucy-letby-was-there-ever-a-crime

Lucy Letby is the most prolific serial killer of our time. She is convicted of murdering seven babies and trying to harm many others. But there are serious questions about not only whether she is a killer at all, but whether there was ever a crime. In episode one, John Sweeney and Edward Abel Smith discover that all is not as it seems at the Countess of Chester Hospital, the place Letby is accused of carrying out her killing spree. Specifically, there were problems with the plumbing, meaning the neonatal unit where the babies died, was on a regular basis, literally full of shit.

New podcast announcement. Welcome to our new podcast series 'Was There Ever A Crime: The Trials of Lucy Letby'. Please help us fund this important journalistic project, go to our Crowdfunder here - https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/lucy-letby-was-there-ever-a-crime Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Lucy Letby is Britain's worst female serial killer in modern times. Or is she? On the day she was first convicted, veteran journalist John Sweeney tweeted: "Lucy Letby may well be the victim of a miscarriage of justice, that the Crown has taken a cluster of accidental and natural deaths and pointed the finger at Letby. There is no compelling evidence of a single murder. The law, sometimes, gets it wrong." In a forensic six-part podcast series, Sweeney, who helped free cot death mum Sally Clark in 2003, and investigative writer Edward Abel Smith address the elephant in the courtroom: was there ever a crime? The Crown's version is that there is compelling medical evidence, a confession and a spreadsheet proving she is the only common denominator when death happens on her watch, time and again. Lock her up and throw away the key. That's exactly what the trial judge did. Judge Goss told the court: "There was a deep malevolence bordering on sadism in your actions… you will spend the rest of your life in prison." The parents of those poor babies who died at the Countess of Chester Hospital have been going through hell, with every detail of their child's death being laid out in front of them. Nothing should take away from their tragedy or grief. But it is important in a country where we pride ourselves on our legal system, that Lucy's case is properly scrutinised. The trigger to this case was a spike in deaths in the unit, which looked after very premature, very small babies, sometimes only two pounds in weight at birth, from three deaths per year up to ten in 2015 and eight in 2016. How come? The series examines evidence from multiple Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspections and internal reports that highlight significant issues at the Countess of Chester Hospital's neonatal unit. These reports indicate the unit was understaffed, with workforce levels 20% below national standards, and faced challenges in maintaining proper care standards. The CQC noted poor maintenance of premises, to the point where some risks had to be escalated during inspections due to patient safety concerns. Internal documents from 2015 revealed the unit was "currently understaffed and underskilled," according to the nurse manager. The hospital's overall rating remained "requires improvement," with particular concerns raised about maternity and neonatal services. In other words the hospital was in the shit, literally and metaphorically, in bad condition, poorly staffed, the sink flooded with raw sewage when it rained heavily; that the spreadsheets proving Lucy's guilt tell a lie as dishonest as painting the target around the arrow after it has been shot; that the babies who died were very, very sick; that her "confession" is no such thing rather therapeutic processing of stress; that the medical evidence against her is a poorly evidenced theory, not fact; that the spike in baby deaths in Lucy's unit can be readily explained by the hospital accepting the most vulnerable babies for the first time, a national surge in neonatal deaths and the shit; that there was never proof of a single crime. And the hospital did not publish evidence of a high-risk bacteria in the tap at the neonatal unit. This podcast, from the makers of the award-winning podcast series, Hunting Ghislaine, will be an extraordinary listen. Look out for the first episode, "Was There Ever A Crime? The Trials of Lucy Letby: A Hospital Full Of Shit" The series is being crowdfunded as we are without any commercial backers for this project. If you fear that Lucy Letby has been the victim of a miscarriage of justice, please contribute to our crowdfunder. Twitter/X: @johnsweeneyroar / @edwardabelsmith

John Sweeney has been uncovering the evidence of Vladimir Putin's war crimes for over twenty years. Now, he's on the ground in Kyiv reporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This episode, John reveals how Putin uses sex to shame his opponents, but has made it extremely dangerous for others to discuss the the Russian president's own affairs.

John Sweeney has been in Kyiv since before Russia's invasion of Ukraine - reporting from on the ground. This episode he visits towns near Kyiv that were occupied by Russia, and records evidence of war crimes. But over 20 years ago, John was reporting on the very same crimes, and others committed against civilians, in Russia and Chechnya - under Vladimir Putin's leadership.

John Sweeney has been in Kyiv since before Russia's invasion of Ukraine - reporting the war from on the ground. But he's been on Vladimir Putin's case for over twenty years. This episode, he examines the evidence for the poisoning and murder of Kremlin critics going back decades, and recalls his own face-to-face encounter with President Putin.

John Sweeney's been on Vladimir Putin's case for more than 20 years - reporting on killings and crimes committed under Putin's leadership in Russia and beyond.  John's been reporting from on the ground in Ukraine since before Russia invaded, but now he's returning to London for a short break.  In this special episode, John is interviewed by his brilliant Ukrainian fixer Liza, and they reflect on the past three months of war. 

John Sweeney has been on Vladimir Putin's case for over twenty years. He's back in the UK after nearly three months in Kyiv reporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This episode John revisits a war-like act by Russian operatives on British soil - using a banned nerve agent to try to kill a former Russian spy. John asks why the British response to the attack was so muted.