this is bbc news. i'm anna foster, live outside manchester crown court. the headlines: nurse lucy letby is sentenced to spend the rest of her life in prison for murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six others. this was a cruel, calculated and cynical campaign of child murder involving the smallest and most vulnerable of children. this is the moment lucy letby is driven away from manchester crown court to begin life behind bars. after refusing to appear in the dock. manchester united forward mason greenwood, who had charges of attempted rape and assault against him dropped,

leaves the club. and more than 20 million americans are under flood warnings, as storm hilary brings torrential rain to southern california. hello. this is bbc news. i'm in a foster, live outside manchester crown court, where in the last few hours the nurse lucy letby has been told that she will spend the rest of her life in prison. letby did not appear in the dock for the sentencing remarks by thejudge today. she was brought here to court but she chose to stay in the holding cells and not to face the families of her victims, who read out a series of distressing impact statements. they talked in great

detail, emotional detail, about the births of their premature, often very six babies —— very sick babies. they talked about the deaths of those babies, what we know now was the moments of their murder i lucy letby, and in some cases, the attempted murder of other babies. some of the families chose to read out those victim impact statements in person, others had been read out by legal counsel, but all painted a picture of a woman who was cold and calculating. the prosecution in asking for that full life sentence described lucy letby as the distinct cover her crimes as premeditated, and thejudge as he cover her crimes as premeditated, and the judge as he went to the details of this case talked about how cold and calculating letby had been as she killed these babies. she injected some of them with air into their blood stream, she poison

others with insulin, and in each case, she tried to cover her tracks after the case. she looked up the parents on facebook and in the house, thejudge referred to parents on facebook and in the house, the judge referred to the fact that in her house that after she was arrested, she had kept handover notes for those babies. the judge described as a morbid record of her crimes. lucy letby was driven away from core just in the last hour or two to begin the rest of her life behind bars. thejudge explained that for each of those convictions, he would be giving lucy letby a whole life order. that is more than the mandatory life sentence for murder. it means, as he explained, the minimum financing tariffs would not apply and she would expect to stay behind bars for the rest of her life. there is no prospect for her release, and as she is now the most prolific killer of children in modern british history, these whole life orders are delete reserved for the most serious offenders, those who show no remorse about those who

don't even in many cases acknowledge their crimes. in the case of lucy letby, this was particularly relevant because she did not appear in the dock to hear those statements, and hers is the latest in a number of high—profile sentencing hearings here in the uk in which convicted murderers have refused to appear in the dock. they include the sentencing in the case of 35—year—old zara aleena. she was an aspiring lawyer attacked while walking home from a bar in east london. her aunt farah naz said the sentencing would have been the murderer�*s opportunity to be "human" and to "face his actions". his absence, she said, was "a slap in the face". nine—year—old schoolgirl olivia pratt korbel was shot by a masked gunman inside her liverpool home. olivia's mother cheryl said the fact that her family had to re—live the pain of olivia's death but the offender could choose to opt out of the sentencing

was a "kick in the teeth." and 28—year—old sabina nessa was murdered in a park in south—east london. she was a primary school teacher. her older sister, jabina islam, called the murderer who refused to appear a "coward". in this case here at manchester crown court today, the judge said that he would deliver those sentencing verdicts as if lucy letby were in court. he said that he would speak directly to the dock and he would use exactly the same words that he would have used add she been here to hear that sentence in person herself. and this is what he had to say. lucy letby, on each of the seven offences of murder and the seven offences of attempted murder, i sentence you to imprisonment for life. because the seriousness of your offences is exceptionally high, i direct that the early release provisions do not apply. the order of the court, therefore,

is a whole life order on each and every offence, and you will spend the rest of your life in prison. that was what mrjustice goss had to say in court earlier. he was really come as we said there, speaking as if lucy letby were in court, and what was really crucial part of the hearing this morning were those victim impact statements that were read out by the families of lucy letby�*s victims. bear in mind that many of them have sat through this trial, they have sapped her harrowing evidence, in some cases they were giving that evidence themselves, but the victim impact statement are very different. they are notjust answering questions from prosecution and defence, this is really their chance to tell the court, to tell the judge, is really their chance to tell the court, to tell thejudge, and the way things should be, to tell the person who has been convicted of the murder of their loved ones the

impact it has had on them and to really be able to express everything thatis really be able to express everything that is in their minds and in their hearts, andi that is in their minds and in their hearts, and ijust want to bring you some of the details, because they were normally difficult to listen to but obviously in or mostly important to listen to —— they were enormously difficult. a small insight into what it has been like for these parents over this last series of years. baby g, a girl who letby tried to kill in september 2015, was left severely disabled. this child is registered blind, can't eat in the normal way and has cerebral palsy. she needs an operation on her spine, but there are concerns that she may not survive the surgery. baby g's parents said... she will never have a sleep over, go to high school, have a boyfriend or get married. each of these babies, in order to protect their identity

convoys assigned a letter, so their identities, their parents identities, their parents identities, was protected in court. the parents of baby n, who letby attempted to murder injune 2016, say their son has lasting damage and is unable to eat without being sick, a condition which may have been caused by throat trauma. when she put the tube into the baby's throat. they said, he has just turned seven years old. we still have a camera that watches him sleep. we wanted him to be home—schooled as we did not want anyone is looking after him. the father of babies 0 and p, two of three triplets killed by letby, told the court how baby p became poorly the day after baby 0 had died. and he said that we did not receive any counselling or support after losing the boys that i did not know how to deal with the situation, and listening to those victim impact statements in court

today was a crucial today was a crucial part today was a crucial part in today was a crucial part in trying today was a crucial part in trying today was a crucial part in trying to understand what these families had been through, notjust the chromatic deaths of their children but also to discover that those deaths were at the hands of lucy letby and then of course the impact that it has had on the lives of these families of and of these parents. they talk about the impact on their mental health, years of therapy, counselling, they talked about the impact that it had had on marriages, on surviving siblings, all of these things normatively difficult —— enormously difficult which this morning they had the chance to communicant some that to the court and to the wider world, their chance to really talk about how difficult all this has been. an nhs safety expert has told the bbc that letby�*s crimes might have been picked up earlier if a system recommended 20 years ago had been put in place. remember, one of the issues ongoing

from this case is how lucy letby was able to continue offending and concerns that were raised were not acted upon. the greater manchester gp harold shipman, you may remember was convicted back into thousand of murdering 15 patients, the subsequent wiry after that court case called for a system of medical examiners —— in 2000. this would spot unusual patterns. but they were only brought in this year. meanwhile, the father of one of another victims says, 30 years onto the lessons from another case are left to be learned. the health correspondent for bbc north west tonight has this exclusive report. the health secretary orders an urgent investigation into how the nurse was able to murder for babies... it nurse was able to murder for babies- - -_ nurse was able to murder for babies... , ., �* , babies... it is may 1993 for beverly allott has just _ babies... it is may 1993 for beverly allott hasjust been _ babies... it is may 1993 for beverly allott hasjust been convicted - babies... it is may 1993 for beverly allott hasjust been convicted of. allott has just been convicted of killing clutch make children and attacking nine more. —— killing four

children. the government held an inquiry into what had gone wrong at the hospital. the report came out in 1994 and it is identified a number of failings of what central finding was because every death and klutz could have another initial expedition and because nobody could believe that a colleague could deliberately harm children and babies, the nurse was able to continue in the unit for two months. the parallels with lucy letby are striking. senior colleagues did raise concerns about her, those in charge were apparently unable to believe there might be a killer in the hospital. so how can the nhs take that mindset into account for the future? we take that mindset into account for the future?— the future? we should have had a s stem the future? we should have had a system for _ the future? we should have had a system for looking _ the future? we should have had a system for looking at _ the future? we should have had a system for looking at the - the future? we should have had a | system for looking at the outcome the future? we should have had a i system for looking at the outcome of babies in neonatal units and to look at adverse events happening to babies in neonatal units. this doctor has — babies in neonatal units. this doctor has chaired _ babies in neonatal units. this doctor has chaired a - babies in neonatal units. this doctor has chaired a number of high—profile nhs inquiries, including several involving maternity units. although none of

his investigations involved deliberate harm, he says there is a common pattern of behaviour in organisations. in common pattern of behaviour in organisations.— organisations. in terms of how eo - le organisations. in terms of how peeple react — organisations. in terms of how peeple react to _ organisations. in terms of how people react to signs - organisations. in terms of how people react to signs of - organisations. in terms of how people react to signs of a - organisations. in terms of how - people react to signs of a potential problem, and how it goes on for too long before it is picked up, and how the response when it is picked up is very often inadequate, i think there are very clear patterns. he very often inadequate, i think there are very clear patterns.— are very clear patterns. he wants all patient — are very clear patterns. he wants all patient incidents _ are very clear patterns. he wants all patient incidents to _ are very clear patterns. he wants all patient incidents to be - are very clear patterns. he wants | all patient incidents to be entered into a system which automatically raises a flag when an unusual pattern emerges. if raises a flag when an unusual pattern emerges.— raises a flag when an unusual pattern emerges. raises a flag when an unusual attern emeraes. ,, . w , pattern emerges. if you check these thins, pattern emerges. if you check these things. you — pattern emerges. if you check these things. you can _ pattern emerges. if you check these things, you can trigger— pattern emerges. if you check these things, you can trigger action, - pattern emerges. if you check these things, you can trigger action, you l things, you can trigger action, you can say, there's something untoward happening here, it is outside the limits of normal variation, we need to look at it. for limits of normal variation, we need to look at it— to look at it. for years he has also been calling _ to look at it. for years he has also been calling for— to look at it. for years he has also been calling for medical _ to look at it. for years he has also| been calling for medical examiners for the independent senior doctors who look at all debts which are not seen by a coroner. it was recommended by the inquiry into dr harold shipman, the greater manchester gp thought to have killed

250 of his patients. that recommendation was made in 2003, 20 years onto those examiners are just being introduced. do you think that would've made a difference here? i think it might've made a think it might�*ve made a difference, yes. if somet had asked if cold questions, at least somebody would have had to look harder at those —— if somet he had asked difficult questions. somebody should have said, there is something very wrong here. gilli something very wrong here. gill dummigan, bbc northwest today. as the legal process concludes they will be two main themes going forward. 0ne as you heard there, the independent inquiry into lucy letby�*s offending, whether it could've been stopped soon, and what is done to protect patients in the future, but also the fact that lucy letby refused to appear in the dock today to hear those sending remarks by the judge, to today to hear those sending remarks by thejudge, to hear those today to hear those sending remarks by the judge, to hear those victim

impact statements. she was brought here but she exercised her right to remain in the holding cells rather to attend court and hear what was being said. and this has profited significant controversy. this is not the first major murder trial in recent times or the —— where they have refused to hear their sentence and the impact of their sentence and the impact of their crimes on the victims. questions are now being asked about whether or not the government has been to change the law, given that controversy has been building? and that was a question that was asked of the prime minister, rishi sunak, earlier this morning. i think the first thing is to extend my sympathies to everyone affected by this. i think, like everyone reading about this, it is just shocking and harrowing. now, i think it's cowardly that people who commit such horrendous crimes do not face their victims and hearfirst—hand the impact that their crimes have had on them and theirfamilies and loved ones. we are looking, and have been,

at changing the law to make sure that that happens, and that's something that we will bring forward in due course. should hospital managers be as accountable as doctors and nurses? well, we're setting up an inquiry that will look into everything that happened in this case and it's important that that inquiry, first and foremost, gets the answer that families need, ensures that we can learn the lessons from what happened, is conducted transparently, and happens as quickly as possible. so that's the inquiry that we'll set up and to make sure that we deliver on those objectives. on that inquiry, should we have a judge—led statutory inquiry? well, i think the important thing for the inquiry to do is make sure that families get the answers that they need. that it is possible for us to learn the lessons from what happened. everything conducted transparently, and to happen as quickly as possible. those are the objectives that we want for the inquiry and we'll make sure that it's set up to deliver on those aims. so mr sunak says a change in the law is under consideration. to compel convicted murderers to

appear in court, to hear their sentence, but is that something that would did cross party support ? well, here's what the leader of the opposition labour party, sir keir starmer, had to say in response. well, my thoughts are with the victims�* families and the anger and frustration that i know they feel at the fact that she won't face justice in the way that she should. when i was director of public prosecutions, i saw for myselfjust how important it is for families to see the defendant in the dock being sentenced, it's an integral part of the way that we do justice in this country. now, this isn't the first case, we've had other cases, the 0livia case up in liverpool and other cases where this has happened. i think that we should change the law. we've made an open offer to the government. if they come forward with the proposal to change the law, we will support it. i think they reallyjust need now to get on with it, so thatjustice can be seen to be done. that is the labour leader sir keir

starmer. certainly even just that is the labour leader sir keir starmer. certainly evenjustjudging by the street here in central manchester around the court, i think the amount of public interest in this case and the number of questions that remain to be answered mean that this story, even though the legal process is concluded, even though lucy letby was driven away in the last few hours to begin the rest of her life in prison, those questions will continue about why lucy letby was allowed not to appear in the dock and whether the law should be changed. also the ongoing investigation, which has now widened to take in lucy letby�*s whole nursing career. remember, this trial only covered a 12 month period of her nursing career, but we have been told the cheshire police already talking to colleagues in different hospitals and looking back through babies that she was in the care of, that she was supposed to be looking after to see if there any further future crimes that lucy letby would need to be charged with most of this is a story that will continue, that will continue to run, and it is worth

saying as well... there are some enormously distressing details that may have on earth, perhaps triggering some reactions if you have been through something similar, particularly when you've been through davie loss, hearing details like this can be really difficult. if you have a look on the bbc news app for the website... you will find there a whole collection of organisations and groups, people who can give some support if you need some resources, something to read, some of talk to a ball of those things are really handily collected together for you. if you go online, going on the bbc news website or the app and look for the bbc action line. that is all for now, then, from here at manchester crown court. let me hand you back to london. rajini has the rest of the day's news.

thank you, anna, at manchester crown court. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. a bbc investigation has revealed that a black hole in local authority budgets continues to grow. information provided by 190 authorities across the uk revealed council leaders were predicting a shortfall of around £5 billion by april 2026. that's even after making £2.5 million of cuts. the government said funding for councils beyond the next financial year has not yet been decided. scotland yard has said it will be taking no further action over claims about the king's charity, the prince's foundation. there were claims a saudi investor was given in honour. a cargo ship fitted with giant rigid sails the size of aircraft wings has embarked on its maiden voyage from china to brazil. it's hoped the british—designed technology, which uses the wind

to help propel the vessel, will reduce carbon emissions by up to 30% and help tackle climate change. you're live with bbc news. mason greenwood is leaving manchester united. charges against the 21—year—old forward, including attempted rape and assault, were dropped in february. it followed a clip published online in which a man alleged to be mason greenwood could be heard shouting and threatening a woman. greenwood has been subject to an internal investigation which has concluded. manchester united issued a statement, saying... greenwood has been subject to that internal investigation which has concluded. he has also issued

a statement, saying... i was brought up near the violence or abuse in a relation ship was wrong and our earlier, i spoke to 0lly foster. i asked him what factors had led to his departure from the club. they were under a lot of pressure, manchester united, to come to a decision. they'd hope to achieve that before the start of the season. you just go back to last week and the opening round of fixtures,

there were protests at old trafford because there was every indication that manchester united were going to re—integrate mason greenwood into their squad. but various female fans�* groups were strongly opposed to that and protested. so there was no announcement last week. now we've had this lengthy statement, of which manchester united have talked about how they've gone about this fact finding mission for the last seven months, since the crown prosecution service dropped all charges of attempted rape, coercive and controlling behaviour and also assault against mason greenwood. they've said that they've had to keep a lot of it confidential to protect the continuing anonymity of the alleged victim relating to those charges. 0ne female fans�* group has come out on social media, the female fans

against mason greenwood's return, they call themselves. "mufc leadership have finally done the right thing," they say, "for the wrong reasons, "to save their own necks, to avoid the pr disaster, "not out of care for any of us. "they have lied, backtracked and ignored us until they feared "for their own reputations." certainly there will be relief among those fans�* groups that a decision has been made, but the process has dragged on for an awful long time, especially when they feared that mason greenwood would be reintegrated into the squad. but now we have this mutual agreement between all parties that he will continue his football career elsewhere. he still has two years left on his contract — it only expires in 2025 — so the option will be for manchester united to loan mason greenwood out or to sell him. we've still got another week or so left in the transfer window, so that's the time frame that we are dealing with. 0lly foster there. let's speak to stephanie hilbourne, who is chief executive of women in sport. what your reaction to mason

greenwood's barger from what your reaction to mason greenwood's bargerfrom menu after that investigation? tide greenwood's barger from menu after that investigation?— that investigation? we are a charity that investigation? we are a charity that cares probably _ that investigation? we are a charity that cares probably about _ that investigation? we are a charity that cares probably about the - that investigation? we are a charity. that cares probably about the change we need to see in sport and we don't get involved in specific cases, but what we are really concerned about is that we still have such low representation of women in leadership, that misogyny is still so rife in our society, and we know that women are suffering at the hands of men every single day, and yet it is so poorly understood, it is poorly recognised, even in larkham and we are really advocating that sport gets its act together in terms of representation of women at the top of that at the moment we know that in the top four tears of football, we have got virtually no representative, two thirds of the club don't have a single woman on their board. so what we want to see is a complete shift in the people running the sport, we want to step misogyny out of sport, we want in time misogyny policy and training in

place, because that is a context in which any of these shocking incidents, whether it is happen here or not, we really don't know, because we are not involved in the case, but that is the context that the whole of our society and sport in particular operates in. stephanie hilbourne, chief _ in particular operates in. stephanie hilbourne, chief executive - in particular operates in. stephanie hilbourne, chief executive of - in particular operates in. stephanie i hilbourne, chief executive of women in sport, thank you very much for sharing your insights on that story, and just a reminder that breaking news that came into us this afternoon, mason greenwood is leaving manchester united. it follows an internal investigation by the club and that follows the dropping of charges against him in february of this year, those charges including attempted rape and assault. and manchester united issued a statement saying that all those involved, including basing the recognised the difficulties with henry commencing his career. therefore, it has been mutually agreed that it would be most appropriate for him to do so away from the old trafford. those are some of the stories we have been looking at this half—an—hour. plenty

more on the bbc news website. i am on twitter. do stay with us here on bbc news. hello. a fairly quiet evening out there for most of us after what has been a pretty decent monday with some sunny spells. just a few showers here and there. and i think that's what we're going to get tomorrow — scattered showers with plenty of sunny spells as well. but having said that, there is thicker cloud and some outbreaks of rain across the north—west of the country. this small weather system has swept into northern ireland and scotland. so through the course of the evening and night, closer to this area of low pressure, it will be raining at times, whereas the south of the country is under the influence of a high. so, here, the skies will be generally clear. so through the evening and the night, that weather front moves into the north—west, a spell of showers,

a stronger breeze as well, but most of england and wales should have dry weather overnight. and the early morning temperatures, whether you're in the north or the south, will be around 14 or 15 degrees. a fairly mild start to tuesday. so here's the forecast, then. closer to the low pressure here, which is to the north of scotland, a thicker cloud at times, again, a scattering of showers. i think the south of the country and the south—east will be generally dry and bright, if not sunny, and, again, every bit as warm as monday. so highs of about 25 in london and norwich, 21 expected in liverpool and about 20 or so in belfast. and tuesday is also going to be very warm across much of europe. here in the uk, typically the 20s, but further south, just across the channel, we're hitting the mid—30s, even in excess of 40 degrees celsius in places like lyon. back to the uk, then, midweek, we have some cloud again spreading into the north—west of the country, perhaps some other western areas of the uk as well, so the dry and brighter weather will be always further east and south. again, the mid—20s, so similar temperatures most days. in the north—west, around 19 or so. so is this warmth going to last?

well, the low pressure and the jet stream are right over us towards the end of the week, so anything south of the jet stream is pretty hot, anything north of the jet stream — and more or less underneath it — is generally on the cool side. so it is expected to cool off as we head towards the end of the week, through the weekend and into next week. so no longer the mid—20s in the south, it's going to be closer to about 20 or so. but the high teens still expected further north. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines. nurse lucy letby is sentenced to spend the rest of her life in prison for murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six others. the victims�* families say she's destroyed their lives. manchester united forward mason greenwood who had charges of attempted rape and assault against him dropped leaves the club. over 20 million americans are under flood warnings as storm hilary brings torrential rain and mudslides to parts of southern california. sport and for a full round—up, here's the bbc sport centre. hello from the bbc sport centre. manchester united have confirmed that striker mason greenwood

will leave the club following a 6—month internal investigation