Nurse accused of murder 'cared deeply about babies'

A caregiver accused of murdering babies connected a neonatal ward "cared deeply" for those she had to look after, a tribunal has heard.

Lucy Letby is charged with sidesplitting 7 babies and attempting to execution 10 others astatine Countess of Chester Hospital successful 2015 and 2016.

Outlining Ms Letby's defence, Ben Myers KC, said she was a "dedicated nurse" and successful "no mode did she privation to harm them".

Ms Letby, 32, denies 22 charges.

Mr Myers told the court: "She trained hard to beryllium a neonatal caregiver and what she wanted was to attraction for babies she looked after.

"The defence accidental she is not blameworthy of causing intentional harm to immoderate babe oregon to sidesplitting immoderate baby.

"She loved her job. She cared profoundly astir the babies and besides cared for their families.

"She had a fulfilling life, had friends, a beingness extracurricular work."

Manchester Crown Court earlier heard however she had penned passages including "I americium evil" and "I killed them connected intent due to the fact that I'm not bully capable to attraction for them".

The notes were among different papers and post-it notes which besides contained "many protestations of innocence", the assemblage was told.

Mr Myers said "anyone with an ounce of quality understanding" would spot the notes arsenic "the anguished outpouring of a young pistillate successful fearfulness and despair erstwhile she realises the enormity of what is being said astir her".

He continued: "We recognise the sadness and the stress, and adjacent the anger, that comes with allegations similar these.

"I commencement connected behalf of the defence by acknowledging however upsetting the allegations volition beryllium and acknowledging the precise large nonaccomplishment and sadness of the families involved.

"Anything that I do, oregon say, during this proceedings is not intended to diminish that successful immoderate way."

But helium told jurors it would beryllium "staggeringly unfair" to convict a idiosyncratic without a connection of evidence.

Mr Myers said: "There is simply a existent information that radical volition simply judge the prosecution mentation of guilt and that's each we person truthful far, ladies and gentlemen, a mentation of guilt based firmly connected coincidence - if thing tin beryllium based firmly connected coincidence."

Pointing to Ms Letby, of Hereford, sitting successful the dock, helium told jurors: "It is important to beryllium cautious that blasted is not heaped connected that pistillate erstwhile determination whitethorn beryllium others who person made mistakes oregon a strategy which has failed."

In immoderate cases, the defence said, no-one could accidental wherefore a peculiar kid deteriorated oregon died.

Mr Myers said the assemblage had been shown Ms Letby's substance messages, her Facebook searches connected the families of babies she was alleged to person harmed and "pieces of paper" and mentioned "amateur psychology".

But helium said the "foundation" of the lawsuit was aesculapian evidence.

Mr Myers said causes of a baby's deterioration oregon decease were not ever wide and determination mightiness beryllium a fig of reasons.

He added successful this lawsuit the babies were "clinically fragile", and successful conditions that could alteration "very swiftly and deteriorate precise rapidly".

Mr Myers said: "Ms Letby is adamant she's done thing intentionally to harm these babies."

With Child A, the archetypal execution count, Ms Letby was said to person injected aerial into the child, but helium said the defence does not judge an aerial embolus, oregon aerial bubble, was the origin of death.

Mr Myers said the "polite" mode of describing the attraction of Child A connected the portion was "sub-optimal".

With Child B, who was Child A's duplicate sister, who Ms Letby is accused of trying to kill, it was a "good example" of the "assumption of guilt" and experts had been "influenced by the mentation of harm".

Child C was a babe lad who Ms Letby is alleged to person murdered by injecting him with aerial done a chemoreceptor tube.

Mr Myers said Child C was a "very premature" baby, calved astatine 30 weeks and weighing lone 800g (1.7lbs).

He said specified babies were vulnerable, particularly to infection, and Child C should person been astatine a specializer children's hospital.