Catriona Aitken
Reporting from Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court

"All she ever wanted to be was a nurse," says Mr Hunter.

“She has to accept the findings but they cannot say that, for the years she was working as a nurse, she was not a) capable or b) compassionate.”

He says she has had no income since her suspension, relying on Universal Credit and "handouts".

She did get a job in a pharmacy, but was "asked to leave" when her case became public and has since secured "limited" work teaching English to international students.

Catriona Aitken
Reporting from Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court

Mr Hunter says his view is that the offending is culpability B or C, as there was no "significant financial gain".

"It's not a case that she has earned money for not providing a service."

He says she was a suitable shortlisted candidate for the role "even with the qualifications they proved she had" and it's a "mathematical nightmare" to work out what the actual financial loss to the health board was.

Catriona Aitken
Reporting from Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court

Peter Hunter, representing Nasir, says his case is that sentences should be concurrent.

"It has to be noted, she was a qualified nurse," he said, adding she had continuously held roles up to Band 7 "without any form of complaint made against her".

"She was promoted upon her effort and her merit. People who were above her encouraged her to apply," Mr Hunter adds.

He also says he disagrees with the victim impact statement from Cwm Taf health board, adding that his client had worked hard in the unit for five months - from September 2019 to February 2020 - before any concern was raised.

"She was not disciplined - no baby died, no baby suffered."

He adds she was asked to set up a specialist team in neonatal care "on merit".

Catriona Aitken
Reporting from Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court

Ms Harris is outlining sentencing guidelines, saying the prosecution categorises Nasir's offending as "culpability A" and has made an application under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

She adds the offences in London and Bridgend should come with "consecutive sentences" due to there being "two separate victims".

But Judge Kember highlights that this could also be viewed as two incidents of similar offending.

Catriona Aitken
Reporting from Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court

Ms Hardacre adds that a ward manager could potentially be faced with major incidents such as "a hospital fire or the oxygen supply failing on the neonatal ward".

She says Nasir's application "painted a picture of a candidate who was capable" but she "exaggerated her experience" which could have had a "catastrophic outcome for patients, families and staff" and showed "total disregard for safety".

Colette Hume
Reporting from Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court

Nasir sits listening impassively as the victim personal statement on behalf of the health board is read out.

In a statement read in court, Suzanne Hardacre, director of midwifery and nursing at Cwm Taf health board, says Nasir’s appointment cost the board £94,941.10 in wages up until her resignation.

She adds there had been significant time lost and damage to reputation.

"This case has had a direct impact on the public perception of the integrity of the staff working within the unit," she says.

She adds that parents should be confident in the knowledge that when they are not with their sick baby, there are staff there that should provide the highest standard of care.

"This was not the case with Tanya Nasir."

Catriona Aitken
Reporting from Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court

Emma Harris, prosecuting, tells the court that Nasir made a "number of false representations" to both Hillingdon Hospital and Cwm Taf Morgannwg University health board.

She says Nasir's claims of nursing experience were "simply fabrications", but Harris went on to "challenge all aspects" of questioning her qualifications.

"The jury rejected the defendant’s evidence," she says.

Catriona Aitken
Reporting from Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court

Tanya Nasir has arrived in the dock, accompanied by a security officer, as the court prepares for the arrival of Judge Richard Kember.

The public gallery is filled with former nursing colleagues of hers from Bridgend and London.

In January 2020, a paediatric matron in Bridgend noticed a problem with Tanya Nasir's Nursing and Midwifery Council number.

In her job application she said she gained her nursing diploma in 2010, but the code began "13", which signified she qualified in the financial year 2013-14.

The matron went through her CV and application to see if there were other discrepancy, and in doing so began unspinning her web of lies.

Her children's school believed she was a doctor, while others were told she was a captain and a major, and her friends thought she was vital to the Army's Covid response in Wales.

While Nasir was studying for her adult nursing diploma at Buckingham New University, she appeared in court to admit four counts of benefit fraud but did not disclose this.

She provided a fake probation letter which said she did not have to tell the university.

And when her Brecon home was searched by police in April 2021, bundles of other fake documents and certificates were found.

Image source, Gareth Everett Huw Evans Agency

• Tanya Nasir claimed to be a highly qualified neonatal nurse and an Army combat medic, with a raft of qualifications - but this was all lies
• The mother-of-two became ward manager on the neonatal unit at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend in September 2019
• But alarm bells were raised when the qualification date on her nursing registration did not match up with her application form

• It emerged she had faked her reference for the post using an NHS email account of a nurse she had previously worked with in London
• Claims she had worked with various charities, including Oxfam and the Red Cross, were also false
• Nasir, 45, from Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, was found guilty of nine counts of fraud and false representation by a jury at Cardiff Crown Court

Good afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of the sentencing of Tanya Nasir.

She was accused of lying about her experience and qualifications to get a job as a senior nurse in a unit for sick and premature babies.

Nasir was found guilty of nine counts of fraud as well as fraud by false representation.

She'll be sentenced today at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court.