British nurse Lucy Letby loses appeal over babies' murder conviction

LONDON (Reuters) -British nurse Lucy Letby on Friday lost her attempt to overturn her conviction for murdering seven babies and trying to kill six others.

Letby, 34, was found guilty last year of killing five baby boys and two baby girls at the neonatal unit of Countess of Chester hospital in northern England.

At a hearing in April, Letby put forward four grounds of appeal involving submissions that the trial judge had wrongly refused applications she had made during the trial.

In a very brief hearing on Friday, the Court of Appeal said her appeal had failed. Judge Victoria Sharp, announcing the court's decision, said that "we have decided to refuse leave to appeal on all grounds".

The judge added that a full written ruling will be delivered at a later date.

No further details can be given for legal reasons.

Letby is due to face a retrial on one count of attempted murder at Manchester Crown Court next month.

(Reporting by Sam Tobin and Michael Holden; editing by William James and Sarah Young)