Calls are mounting for Lucy Letby to be released on bail after a panel of international medical experts said they believe she did not commit the murders. 

Letby is serving 15 whole life sentences after being convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others, and has lost two bids to appeal against her convictions.

Who are the experts?
The panel was assembled by Dr Shoo Lee (pictured above right), a retired doctor and head of the Canadian Neonatal Foundation, amid concerns over the medical evidence used at Letby's trial. The 14 senior clinicians include British doctor Neena Modi, a former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

What did they say?
Lee said there were alternative explanations for each of the deaths linked to Letby, and that "in all cases death or injury were due to natural causes or just bad medical care". He "accused the Countess of Chester Hospital of a litany of failures", said Sky News, including "unsafe delays in diagnosis and treatment, poor skills in resuscitation and incubation, and the misdiagnosis of diseases".

The panel also called into question the prosecution's claim that Letby killed infants in her care there by injecting air into their bloodstreams, causing an air embolism. Lee said this claim has "no basis in evidence".

What does this mean for Letby?
The panel's findings have been sent to the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which investigates alleged miscarriages of justice.

A barrister "close to the case" claimed the report was so "game-changing" that Letby could be released on bail if the "court of appeal believed there was a real possibility of her convictions being quashed", The Guardian said. But such a development would be at least 12 months away and would be "strongly opposed" by the Crown Prosecution Service.

A mother of one of the victims criticised the panel's report as "upsetting" and "disrespectful". She told the Daily Mail that "they said the parents want to know the truth, but we've had the truth", and "we believe the jury made the right decision".

As Cristiano Ronaldo turns 40 today, he may be a tad slower on the pitch but off it, his star shines brighter than ever. 

His age – previously over the hill for a professional footballer – has done nothing to "temper his competitive zeal", said The Athletic. And despite playing outside Europe at Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, Ronaldo, the highest-paid footballer in the world, is "quite possibly the most famous person in the world" too. 

'Self-made success'
Ronaldo's "performance level has dipped dramatically over the past few years" but it is a testament to his "professionalism and relentless pursuit of perfection" that he is still scoring goals in the twilight of a 23-year career, said Goal. There's even talk of him featuring in Portugal's World Cup squad next year. If he does, it'll be his sixth World Cup – something no other footballer has achieved.

It's this ambition that "still makes him tick", said the BBC. As well as the World Cup, he could aim for 1,000 career goals (he needs 77 more), 250 caps for Portugal (he needs 33 more) or even "sharing the pitch" with his 14-year-old son, who currently plays for Al-Nassr's youth teams.

But for all of his epic footballing achievements, it is Ronaldo's global level of fame that is a truly "new development for the sport", said Barney Ronay in The Guardian last year. He is unique in being able to "straddle two intersecting planes: pure sport and pure product".

'Building a business empire'
It's Ronaldo the 'product' that he's been busy investing in most recently, "building a business empire" that includes "ventures in a wide range of industries" from media to fashion and hospitality, said the BBC. In the past two years, he has "doubled the number of organisations in which he holds a majority share".

And then there's his power as an influencer. Ronaldo can easily access the hugest of audiences. His YouTube channel was the fastest ever to get one million subscribers and now has 73.5 million. Ronaldo the footballer will clearly go on as long as he can but, when the end comes, Ronaldo the global megastar will surely continue. Such is his fame, said The Athletic, "he cannot retire, not really".

"Janeites rejoice (in suitably restrained and quietly sardonic fashion!)" said Lucy Mangan in The Guardian. This year marks the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth, so expect "all things Austen" in the coming months.

"First off the televisual blocks" is a BBC adaptation of Gill Hornby's book, "Miss Austen". The four-part series explores why Cassandra Austen carried out what some believe to be "the greatest act of literary vandalism in history" by destroying hundreds of her sister Jane's letters.

The action begins decades after Jane's death, and follows Cassandra (Keeley Hawes) as she travels to the home of a family friend to retrieve the letters before they fall into the hands of her "vicious" sister-in-law Mary (Jessica Hynes). In the fictionalised retelling, the Austen lives "unfold" through a series of flashbacks as Cassandra reads through her sister's letters.

I was "hypnotically drawn" to Mary, said Carol Midgley in The Times. Hynes' portrayal of Jane's "callous, pinch-mouthed" sister-in-law is so "ghastly", she is mesmerising to watch. But Hawes is the star of the show, bringing her usual "nuance, warmth and delicate control" to the role of Cassandra. In all, it's a "compelling if sad" story brimming with "intrigue", "thwarted love" and "19th-century, passive-aggressive politesse".

What's really going on with Reform leading the polls
John Curtice in The i Paper
"Reform’s bandwagon is undoubtedly gathering speed," writes polling expert John Curtice. Support for the party has "slowly but surely been rising" since the general election. And Nigel Farage's "unique ability to articulate the pessimism and despair many voters feel about the state of their country" is "proving a powerful magnet". His task now is to "sustain and progress his challenge to the traditional political order".

Defenceless Britain
Andrew Marr in The New Statesman
"What's a boy to do?" writes Andrew Marr. Keir Starmer currently finds the international stage "about as cosy as one of the grimmer moments of Wagner", with "uncertainty on every side". Britain is "weak, disorderly, deluded" and "the target of brickbats from around the world". We "must start to defend" ourselves "properly". In this time of "dangerous international relations", a "pivot to national security" would be "popular", and play to Starmer's "natural strengths".

Surrogacy needs scrutiny but don't ban it
Alice Thomson in The Times
US influencers and models "seeking" other women's "services to 'gestate' their baby" are "being attacked" for "renting another woman's body", writes Alice Thomson. This kind of commercial surrogacy is "enough to make anyone feel queasy", but done altruistically, it "can work beautifully". UK law should be clarified "so there can be no accusations" of surrogates "becoming paid vessels". It should not be "criminal or disreputable" to want to help "create a family".