Lucy Letby's 'boyfriend' fought to save her career and put her 'first' after she murdered babies, damning emails show

Lucy Letby's doctor 'boyfriend' put his concern for her above his duty to patients, an inquiry found.Married father-of-two Mark Deakin forwarded a confidential email to the nurse in an apparent bid to warn her that staff had become suspicious of her behaviour.Following a 2016 staff meeting about babies who had died or fallen ill under Letby's care, to which Letby was not invited, Dr Deakin messaged her with details, writing: 'You need to keep this to yourself.'Dr Deakin, 53, who died earlier this year after being sacked for exchanging 1,355 messages with Letby, was named for the first time earlier this month after the Daily Mail applied for an anonymity order to be lifted.Inquiry chairman Lady Justice Thirlwall said the doctor, who she named as Dr U, 'blurred boundaries' between his duty to his patients and his desire to help and support Letby, adding: 'He put her first.'The inquiry heard Deakin was an experienced registrar at the Countess of Chester Hospital where Letby murdered seven babies and tried to murder seven others between June 2015 and June 2016.Dr Deakin said he supported Letby because she was struggling with her mental health and admitted that he shared too much clinical detail about patients, which he deemed inappropriate in hindsight.He was involved in caring for two of Letby's victims as a night-shift registrar in June 2016. He admitted that he failed to recognise the significance of high insulin levels in Baby L, a twin boy, after Letby had injected him with an overdose of the medication. Married father-of-two Mark Deakin exchanged hundreds of messages with Lucy Letby and put her first over patients, the inquiry found Lucy Letby murdered seven babies and tried to murder seven others at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016 Lady Justice Kate Thirlwall chaired an inquiry into the deaths and found there had been a 'complete failure' to protect babies at the hospitalLady Justice Thirlwall disagreed that the incident was a 'collective failure', stating: 'It was a failure by the doctor who was responsible for caring for Baby L at the time, namely Dr [Deakin].'The following month, Dr Deakin attended a meeting about the deaths of two babies. Colleagues recalled that concerns about Letby were discussed, but Dr Deakin said he did not recall this and that he did not have any concerns about her.Later, he messaged Letby - who had not been invited to the meeting - saying: 'You need to keep this to yourself. The meeting this afternoon looked at everything with Child O and P from birth onwards, reviewed everything, the room, beds, medical views and actions. We looked at all documentation, medicine.'If you have any doubt about how good you are at your job stop now, documentation was perfect.'The following day, Dr Stephen Brearey, the hospital's lead neonatal consultant, emailed Dr Deakin suggesting that he prepare an inquest statement while matters were fresh in his mind. He said the statement could 'include things we discussed yesterday that might not be in the notes' - a reference to Letby's involvement.Dr Deakin forwarded the message directly to Letby, telling her: 'This email has to stay between us.'He told the inquiry that he had been trying to reassure her and 'give her some insight into what was going on', adding: 'In hindsight that was an error on my part...I shouldn't have sent it.'Lady Justice Thirlwall called his actions 'most unwise', stating: 'It is another example of the blurring of boundaries...between his duties to his patients, and his desire to help and support a young nurse. He put her first.'The inquiry found Dr Deakin's support for Letby, 36, continued well into 2017 when he helped her to secure observational theatre placements at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool. He did not tell the hospital that she was no longer permitted to look after babies on the neonatal unit at the Countess.During his evidence to the inquiry, Dr Deakin said he had been 'misled and maybe manipulated'.'I'm really sorry that things have come to end as they have,' he said. 'I have a lot of regrets about how that period of time took place.'During her criminal trial, Letby broke down in tears and tried to leave the dock when Dr Deakin entered the witness box and answered questions from behind a screen.The prosecution suggested it was because she didn't like hearing her 'boyfriend' give evidence, to which she replied: 'That's unfair.'His name appeared repeatedly on scrawled notes found at Letby's home address after her arrest, including several references to 'love was all we needed'.