Fears that Lucy Letby was 'scapegoated' for the deaths of premature babies in her hospital have grown after the emergence of new evidence about the doctors who allegedly persuaded the police to build a criminal case against her.

Amid mounting doubts about the safety of her convictions, internal documents have revealed how managers were concerned about the 'bullying' behaviour of two doctors towards Letby after she formally highlighted apparent failures of care in their neonatal unit – triggering her removal from the wards by the doctors.

After Letby launched a grievance procedure against the doctors, Dr Stephen Brearey and Dr Ravi Jayaram, the hospital found in her favour – but by then the doctors had contacted Cheshire police to register their concerns against her. 

She was found guilty of the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of seven others at the Countess of Chester Hospital between 2015 and 2016.

Now a draft copy of the investigation into Letby's grievance, dated November 12, 2016 and marked 'strictly private and confidential', reveals the conclusion that 'it is the view of nursing and executive interviewees that the drive to blame LL for the rise in mortality came from SB and RJ...

'I find it a concern that these concerns are based on 'gut feel'... I am therefore concerned as to whether this warrants further investigation under the Trust's Bullying and Harassment policy.'

The document, placed on the website of the Thirlwall Inquiry – which is examining the circumstances around the babies' deaths – stated: 'Given the positive views of LL's competence, capability and flexibility regarding when she is needed, LL is likely to be in a position where she may be looking after the sickest babies on the unit and coupled to the fact that she works full-time and will work extra shifts when asked, increases the likelihood that she might be on duty when adverse events occur.'

Hospital management then met on May 12, 2017 to discuss what to do about the doctors: a handwritten note, also posted on the Thirlwall site, reveals the conclusions of Sue Hodkinson, the director of human resources, and Tony Chambers, the Countess of Chester chief executive.

Under the heading 'RJ/SB – plan re management' is the line: 'Action plan to manage out' [the doctors from the hospital].

Other headings – including 'GMC', the General Medical Council, which governs the medical profession and disciplines doctors – suggest that the managers discussed other ways to stop the consultants from targeting Letby.

But by this point the doctors had alerted Cheshire police and the spotlight shifted to Letby's supposed role in the babies' deaths. The juries in the resulting trials were unaware of this full context to the cases.

Over the past two years, The Mail on Sunday has highlighted how Letby was convicted on the basis of contested statistical probabilities and increasingly disputed theories about how she might have inflicted harm on the children.

The juries reached their verdict despite the absence of any forensic or CCTV evidence and the lack of a convincing motive. Independent medical reviews found that the unit was understaffed and stretched beyond capacity.

Mark McDonald, the lawyer representing Letby, said: 'This material puts a completely different perspective on why Lucy was accused of such awful crimes.

'Was she a whistleblower? Was she a scapegoat? These are questions which one day, when Lucy is exonerated, the Countess will need to tackle, but what we do know is that hospital was in crisis and the neonatal unit was not fit for purpose and should never have been dealing with desperately sick children.'

Dr Jayaram was the only medical witness at Letby's two trials who was able to point to behaviour directly linking her to the babies' deaths.

Addressing the Commons earlier this year, Tory MP Sir David Davis – who has been campaigning for Letby's convictions to be reviewed – asked: 'Why did Cheshire police decide Letby was responsible?

'Initially, there was no intention to launch any criminal investigation, but on May 15, 2017 that all changed. After a single meeting with two consultants, Dr Stephen Brearey and Dr Ravi Jayaram, from the Countess of Chester, Letby was explicitly identified as the focus of suspicion.'

The Countess of Chester Hospital did not respond to a request for comment.