Dr Mark Deakin, a consultant who was suggested at Lucy Letby's trial to have been her secret "boyfriend", has been named for the first time after dying suddenly following his sacking from Alder Hey Children's Hospital. The 53-year-old married father-of-two was found collapsed in his car the day after his dismissal in June, was taken into intensive care, and died nine days later. He had been granted anonymity during Letby's trial but reporting restrictions were lifted following his death, revealing details of the misconduct investigation that led to his sacking.

Dr Deakin was dismissed after a disciplinary hearing found he had exchanged inappropriate messages with Letby about Baby N, a premature boy with haemophilia whom she was convicted of trying to murder, breaching patient confidentiality. He also arranged up to six unauthorised "observational visits" to Alder Hey for Letby in 2017, after she had been removed from frontline nursing amid suspicions over the deaths, and supported her grievance against the Countess of Chester Hospital. An NHS Trust investigation, launched in January 2024, found he likely knew colleagues had raised concerns about Letby yet still let her attend ward rounds, an insulin roadshow and shadow staff in intensive care, and that he had inappropriately accessed Baby N's records even after Letby's conviction. Letby, 36, is serving 15 whole life terms for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven more at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016.