Lucy Letby, who is accused of killing seven babies and the attempted murder of 10 others, is being cross-examined by the prosecution for a third day
She has denied taking enjoyment from seeing babies in distress
The prosecution alleges the nurse attacked 17 babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016 - charges she denies
Today is Lucy Letby's seventh day in the witness box at Manchester Crown Court - on her first day she told jurors the charges against her were "sickening"
On Thursday, she told the jury that there was a conspiracy between doctors to blame her for problems at the hospital
Several of the parents of babies who the nurse is alleged to have murdered and attacked have been in court to watch proceedings
The court has previously heard Letby was removed from frontline duties in July 2016 after doctors raised concerns
Judith Moritz
Inside the courtroom
There are 17 in total - the nurse is accused of murdering seven and attempting to murder another 10.
Because we can't name the babies, we are listing them in alphabetical order, as they are set out, chronologically, on the indictment.
The charges run from June 2015-June 2016.
Lucy Letby is alleged to have attacked some of the babies by injecting air into their stomachs or bloodstreams.
She is asked what she knew, from her training, about the dangers of air embolism.
Letby answers: "I think every nurse knows that injecting air into a patient can lead to death."
Judith Moritz
Inside the courtroom
Lucy Letby is now asked about the two babies in the case who she's accused of poisoning with insulin.
She agrees that both babies were given insulin unlawfully, but that it was not given by her.
Lucy Letby says: "I don’t believe that any staff on the unit would make a mistake in giving insulin."
Nick Johnson KC: "Mistake is not an option here, so it was deliberate poisoning by someone, but not you?"
Lucy Letby: "Insulin has been added by somebody but I can’t say by who, just that it wasn’t me."
Judith Moritz
Inside the courtroom
Nick Johnson KC is reading a list of all the doctors on the unit and asking Lucy Letby if she had any issues with them.
She says she had normal working relationships with the doctors.
Johnson asks: "Are you suggesting that there is some sort of agreement between any of the medical staff who’ve given evidence in this case - to get you?"
Letby responds: "In the consultant group? Yes I do believe that."
Johnson says: "Who is in the conspiracy group?" Lucy Letby says: "Which individuals? I believe Ravi Jayaram, Stephen Brearey, John Gibbs (and another doctor, name witheld)."
Johnson says: "So the gang of four?"
Letby answers: "Yes."
Johnson then asks: "What is the conspiracy between the gang of four?"
Letby replies: "That they have apportioned blame onto me."
Johnson says: "And the motive of apportioning blame onto you?"
Letby explains: "I believe to cover up things at the hospital."
Nick Johnson KC asks: "Do you agree that if certain combinations of these children were attacked, that unless more than one person was attacking them - you have to be the attacker?"
Lucy Letby says: "No I’ve not attacked any children."
Johnson continues: "I understand your case that you’ve not attacked anyone. If the jury conclude that a certain combination of children were certainly attacked by someone, then the shift pattern gives us the answer as to who."
Lucy Letby replies: "No, I don’t agree."
Johnson responds: "Why don’t you agree?"
Lucy Letby: "Just because I was on shift doesn’t mean I’ve done anything."
Johnson says: "Babies 5, 8, 10 and 12 were all attacked by someone, and you’re the only common feature."
Lucy Letby: "That’s for them (the jury) to decide."
Johnson: "Of course it is, but as a principle do you agree?"
Lucy Letby: "I don’t feel like I can answer that."
Nick Johnson KC continues his questioning.
He asks: "What would take priority? Texting your friends or feeding a child?" Lucy Letby replies: "The baby obviously."
Johnson asks: "Have you ever texted your friends whilst a resuscitation has been going on?" Letby says: "No".
Johnson then asks: "Are you sure about that?" Letby asks: "A resus that I’ve been involved with?"
Johnson says: "A resus on the unit." Letby responds: "I can’t recall texting while on a resuscitation."
Johnson asks: "Would it be wholly inappropriate?" Letby replies: "If I was at cot side, yes."
Judith Moritz
Inside the courtroom
Nick Johnson KC now begins asking Lucy Letby about nasogastric tube feeding of babies on the unit.
She explains how it's done. Nick Johnson KC asks: "Have you ever used a syringe plunger to speed up the flow of milk?" Lucy Letby answers: "No."
Johnson asks: "Is it a job you need to use both hands for?" Letby says: "Yes."
Johnson then says: "Have you ever sent texts to your friends while performing a tube feed?" Letby replies: "No, absolutely not."
Johnson asks: "Where would that fall in the scale of infractions?"
Letby responds: "It would be inappropriate and I don’t know how you could do a feed without using both hands."
This is an extremely distressing case. So just a reminder that if you, or someone you know, needs help after reading about it, the details of organisations offering assistance can be found onthe BBC Action Line website.
The court sits between 10:30am and 16:15pm every day and there's a 15 minute break in the morning, and another in the afternoon.
There's also an hour's lunch break - usually at 1pm.
Lucy Letby's cross examination is expected to take several days, and to go into next week.
Judith Moritz
Inside the courtroom
Nick Johnson KC says: "Did you go into the neonatal unit late at night when you weren’t on shift?"
Lucy Letby replies: "I would sometimes go when not on shift, sometimes to finish paperwork."
Johnson asks: "So there are times when you’ve been on the neonatal unit when there is no trace of you having been there?"
Letby: "There would be a trace because I would have had to swipe, there’s no other way."
Lucy Letby says it would not be unusual for her to still be on the unit a couple of hours after her shift ended.
Nick Johnson KC says swipe data doesn't always show when she was there. He points out that colleagues could have held doors open for her.
Judith Moritz
Inside the courtroom
Nick Johnson KC now says he wants to ask Lucy Letby about a sympathy card which she sent to the parents of baby I.
She took photos of the card on her phone, on the day of the baby girl's funeral.
A reminder, we can't identify any of the babies or the families in this case as there are legal orders which prevent us from doing so.
Baby I was a girl who Lucy Letby is accused of murdering in October 2015.
The photo of the card was taken by the nurse at 04:30am at the hospital, whilst Lucy Letby was on a night shift.
Image source, Cheshire Police handoutThe photo of the card was taken by the nurse at the hospital
Johnson says: "Why did you write the card at home, and then bring it to work and take a photo of it in the place where the baby had died in dreadful circumstances?"
Lucy Letby answers: "The place is insignificant, I take photos of the majority of cards that I send. This was taken to give to the staff who were going to the funeral."
Johnson asks: "Did it give you a bit of a thrill, taking a picture in the place where the child died?"
Letby replies: "Absolutely not, no."
Judith Moritz
Inside the courtroom
Nick Johnson KC asks Lucy Letby about her document shredder. When she was arrested she told police that she didn't have a shredder.
A shredder box was found in her bedroom at her parents' house. Nick Johnson asks her why she didn't tell detectives that she did in fact have a shredder.
She says: "I’d just been arrested by the police, locating a shredder wasn’t on my mind."
Johnson adds: "Are you making up bits of evidence as you go along?"
Lucy Letby replies: "No."
Judith Moritz
Inside the courtroom
Lucy Letby is asked about a confidential document regarding one of the babies (a blood gas record chart relating to one of the babies) which was also found at her house.
Nick Johnson KC accuses her of "fishing it out of the confidential waste bin".
She says: "I never fished anything out of the confidential waste bin."
He says: "It was for your little collection, wasn't it?" She replies "No."
Judith Moritz
Inside the courtroom
Regarding handover sheets and why they were kept, Nick Johnson KC asks Lucy Letby: "Why don't you want to tell the truth?"
She says: "That is the truth. They have no meaning to me at all. They're just pieces of paper to me. I didn't know I had handover sheets. They weren't significant."
Mr Johnson says: "They were in your work bag."
He adds: "Are you really asking the jury to accept that pieces of paper with sensitive information about dead children on them were insignificant?"
Lucy Letby answers: "Yes."
Judith Moritz
Inside the courtroom
We're in courtroom number seven at Manchester Crown Court. It's a medium sized windowless room.
I am one of only four journalists in the room itself. Others are watching via videolink in an annexe.
Parents of some of the babies in the trial are in court to listen to today's evidence.
Lucy Letby's parents and one of her friends are sitting just behind the nurse.
Lucy Letby is sitting very still at a wooden table directly opposite the jury. She's looking straight ahead, with a neutral expression.
The judge, Mr Justice Goss is wearing red robes, and sits above the court.
Nick Johnson KC is standing at right angles to the nurse peering over his reading glasses at her.
The courtroom is full. There are six barristers - three prosecution and three defence. There's also a row of other lawyers and court staff.
Judith Moritz
Inside the courtroom
Nick Johnson KC is asking the nurse about nursing handover sheets with confidential medical information on them, which were found at her house after her arrest.
He shows her one and asks her to pick it up. She does. He asks her how it's different to all the others found at her house. He tells her it's because it has no folds in it.
She asks if it's the original. He says it is. He says: "You've not been prepared to tell the truth about these handover sheets have you?"
She says: "The truth is what I've told you."
Yesterday Lucy Letby said that student nurses weren't given handover sheets. Today Nick Johnson KC says that 99 of the sheets found at Letby's house were from her time as a student nurse.
Judith Moritz
Inside the courtroom
Nick Johnson KC is leading the prosecution team of three barristers.
He begins by asking Lucy Letby if she wants to modify any of the answers which she gave to him yesterday. She says she does not.
Nick Johnson KC "are you doing your best to tell your truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth Lucy Letby?"
She answers "yes".
Judith Moritz
Inside the courtroom
This is Lucy Letby's sixth day in the witness box and her first full day of cross-examination.
The nurse is wearing a black pinstriped suit, and is sitting with a prison officer on either side of her, with another prison officer stationed just inside the door of the courtroom.
The judge, Mr Justice Goss, has entered the room, and the jury of eight women and four men are now taking their seats.
The court has reconvened this morning for the cross-examination of Lucy Letby.
The nurse is accused of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder 10 others at Countess of Chester Hospital.
Yesterday we saw prosecution lead Nick Johnson KC ask her why she cries about herself but "not about the babies".
Johnson also asked her about the specifics of an account from a doctor who said Letby removed a breathing tube from one of the babies.
Read more about each child's case. A warning some of the details can be distressing to read.
The court has finished for the day. It has heard the beginning of the prosecution's cross examination of Lucy Letby.
The trial resumes tomorrow at 10:30 am, and we will continue our coverage then.