Lawyers for convicted child serial killer Lucy Letby have applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) to investigate her case as a potential miscarriage of justice, the organisation said.

Letby, now 35, is serving 15 whole life prison sentences after being convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others – including one she attacked twice.

All the offences took place between June 2015 and June 2016 while the nurse was working at the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

The announcement came minutes before a press conference organised Letby’s legal team, where they claim a panel of experts on the care of newborn babies will present what they say is “significant new medical evidence”.

The CCRC confirmed it had “received a preliminary application in relation to Ms Letby’s case, and work has begun to assess the application”.

A CCRC spokesperson said: “We are aware that there has been a great deal of speculation and commentary surrounding Lucy Letby’s case, much of it from parties with only a partial view of the evidence.

“We ask that everyone remembers the families affected by events at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016.”

The spokesperson said it was not the CCRC’s job to “determine innocence or guilt in a case”, and said that it was a “matter for the courts”.

The body said it would now assess the application and determine whether there was new evidence which presented a reasonable chance of a conviction being overturned.