Being accused of babies' murders was devastating, says nurse

1. A nurse accused of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill 10 others is defending herself for the first time at Manchester Crown Court
2. Prosecutors allege that Letby attacked 17 babies in the neo-natal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital in north-west England between June 2015 and June 2016
3. Letby, 33, denies the charges and has told the court the accusations are "devastating"
4. Jurors have been shown a note written by Letby that says "I killed them on purpose because I'm not good enough" and "I am evil, I did this"
5. But Letby denies this meant she intentionally killed the babies, saying: "It meant that I didn't think I'd been good enough... and had somehow failed in my duties"
6. The court has previously heard that Letby was removed from frontline duties in July 2016 after doctors raised concerns
7. The BBC's Judith Moritz and Dan O'Donoghue are in court and are bringing you the latest here

Lucy Letby's parents in court

BBC

A little earlier, Lucy Letby's parents, John and Susan Letby, were seen entering the court to hear their daughter's evidence.

Letby's barrister Ben Myers KC was also filmed entering the court in Manchester.

BBC

Judith Moritz

Inside the courtroom

Myers says he will begin by asking her about her background.

She says she grew up in Hereford, and went to school and local sixth form college there. She says, "I've always wanted to work with children" but that it was towards the end of A levels that she chose nursing.

She says: "I was the first person in the family to go to university."

She did a three year degree programme at Chester.

She says: "The majority of my clinical placements were at the Countess of Chester Hospital, either at the children's ward or on the neonatal unit. I qualified in September 2011."

Defendant will be questioned by her barrister

Judith Moritz

Inside the courtroom

Letby is standing now and has given her oath.

She's being questioned by her defence barrister Ben Myers KC.

She gives her full name as Lucy Letby, and her date of birth. She's 33 now, but was 25-26 at the time of the alleged offences.

Letby is in the witness box flanked by prison officers

Judith Moritz

Inside the courtroom

His Honour Judge Goss is in court and the jurors are also coming in now.

Lucy Letby is in the witness box, sitting directly opposite them. She's flanked by two prison officers.

Letby facing jury who will decide her fate

Judith Moritz

Inside the courtroom

I’m the only BBC correspondent in the courtroom itself, and one of only five reporters in court number seven at Manchester Crown Court.

Because of the level of interest in the case most of those covering the trial are watching on a video link from an annexe in a different building.

For the last six months Lucy Letby has been sitting inside the dock, flanked by prison officers, watching proceedings from behind a glass screen.

Now she’s made the short journey across the courtroom to the witness box, and it’s my first chance to see her close up, from my seat nearby.

She is sitting directly opposite the jury who’ll decide her fate. After half a year’s worth of prosecution evidence, this is the first chance they’ve had to hear from her directly.

BreakingLucy Letby to give evidence in court

We can now report that Lucy Letby will be giving evidence in her defence today.

Our correspondents are in court and will be following along. We’ll bring you the details here.

What stage is the case at?

SWNS

This trial began last October, with officials saying it could last some time.

And for more than six months, the 12 jurors at Manchester Crown Court have been hearing evidence about Letby and the 17 babies she is accused of either murdering or trying to kill.

If you want to know more about each child’s case, you can do so by heading here.

The prosecution has now completed setting out that evidence, and we’re now going to hear from the defence. We don’t know how long it will take.

But when that’s over, both the prosecution and the defence will sum up their arguments before the judge asks the jury to retire to consider their verdict.

Dan O’Donoghue

Reporting from court

I’ve been reporting on the trial for the last six months from the press annexe at Manchester Crown Court, and my reports have been used daily on the BBC News website.

I’m back at court today and will be helping to bring you the latest as Lucy Letby stands trial.

Defence due to begin in Lucy Letby trial

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the trial of the nurse, Lucy Letby.

She’s accused of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder 10 others while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

Letby, 33, denies all the charges.

The prosecution has now concluded its case. We’re due to hear from the defence next.

Our reporters in court will bring you all the key lines right here.