At a press conference earlier after the verdict, Pascale Jones from the Crown Prosecution Service said Lucy Letby "did her utmost to conceal her crimes" and used her knowledge as a nurse to "inflict harm, grief and death".

Some readers may find the details in this clip upsetting.

Dan O'Donoghue
At Manchester Crown Court

The verdicts bring one of Britain's darkest criminal trials to a close.

Over nine months at Manchester Crown Court, we have heard the unthinkable - that a neo-natal nurse was allegedly murdering and attacking babies in her care.

The prosecution told the court Lucy Letby was a "calculating and devious" opportunist who "gaslighted" colleagues at the Countess of Chester Hospital to cover her "murderous assaults" between June 2015 and June 2016.

Baby deaths on the neo-natal unit were due to "serial failures in care" and not Letby, her defence lawyer told those of us present in the court.

He said the case against Letby had been "driven by a relentless presumption of guilt" and relied upon "partisan and poorly reasoned expert evidence".

Francesca Gillett
BBC News

I'm taking over editing this page now, after what has been a fast-moving few hours as the trial ended in the case of Lucy Letby, who has now become the UK's most prolific baby killer.

She was found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others during her time on the neonatal unit at Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015 and 2016. The jury were undecided on six other counts of attempted murder relating to five babies, and she was cleared of two other attempted murder charges.

We've just been hearing in the last couple of minutes that the government has launched an independent public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the crimes - and how concerns raised at the time were handled.

Also on this story:

• The BBC has been told that hospital bosses at Letby's neonatal unit failed to investigate allegations against her, and the hospital also delayed calling the police - more here
• Police are reviewing all 4,000 admissions of babies at the two neonatal units where Letby worked between 2012 and 2016 - both the Chester hospital and Liverpool Women's. That does not mean they're investigating all of them
• The medical director at the Countess of Chester Hospital's says staff have been left devastated by the case - but that "significant changes" have been made since Letby worked there
• Letby will now be sentenced at 10:00 BST on Monday 21 August

Image source, Reuters

Health Secretary Steve Barclay says the independent inquiry, just announced by the government, "will seek to ensure the parents and families impacted get the answers they need".

"I am determined their voices are heard, and they are involved in shaping the scope of the inquiry should they wish to do so," he says.

The inquiry will look at the circumstances surrounding the babies' deaths at Countess of Chester Hospital, including "how concerns raised by clinicians were dealt with", the government says.

Cheshire Constabulary has released a clip from Letby's first police interview which took place on 3 July 2018.

The nurse has been found guilty of murdering seven babies and the attempted murder of another six babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

The jury was undecided on six other counts of attempted murder.

Image source, SWNS

As we've been reporting, Lucy Letby has been convicted of the murder of seven babies - more than any other serial killer in modern times. This is how her crimes compare to that of other murderers of children:

• Fred and Rosemary West were jointly charged with murdering 10 people, including five children, between the late 1960s and the mid-1980s
• Ian Brady and Myra Hindley were responsible for the deaths of five children between the ages of 10 and 17 in the 1960s
• Scottish murderer Robert Black killed four girls aged between five and 11 in the 1980s
• Russell Bishop killed two nine-year-old girls in 1986
• Nurse Beverley Allitt was given 13 life sentences in 1993 for murdering four children and attacking nine others while working at Grantham Hospital

Detectives at Cheshire Constabulary believe Lucy Letby may be responsible for other attacks on babies. Det Supt Paul Hughes says police are reviewing all 4,000 admissions of babies into neonatal units at the two hospitals where Letby worked between 2012 and 2016 - the Countess of Chester and Liverpool Women’s Hospital.

"This does not mean we are investigating all 4,000," he says.

"It just means that we are committed to a thorough review of every admission from a medical perspective, to ensure that nothing is missed throughout the entirety of her employment as a nurse.

"We would be foolish if we were to think we have gathered all cases that Lucy Letby could have touched in one go."

The government has ordered in independent inquiry following today's verdicts against Lucy Letby.

It will look into the "circumstances behind the murders and attempted murders of babies at Countess of Chester Hospital to help ensure families get the answers they need".

If you're just catching up with this case, watch the BBC's Nick Garnett explain how the 10-month long trial has played out at Manchester Crown Court.

He says that "Lucy Letby is the worst child serial killer in British history" and explains how she has been convicted of the murder of seven babies, and the attempted murder of another six.

Garnett adds: "The woman who was there to look after some of our most fragile members of society murdered them."

Scawn, the medical director of Countess of Chester Hospital, where Letby murdered seven babies and attempted to murder another six, says "significant changes" have been made at the hospital since Letby worked there.

He wants to “provide reassurance to every patient who accesses our services that they can have confidence in the care that they will receive”.

Scawn ends by saying that his thoughts are with the families and loved ones at this difficult time.

Dr Scawn praises staff who gave evidence during the long trial of Lucy Letby. He vows the hospital will continue to support all the hospital staff affected.

Scawn continues by saying the case "has had a profound impact on our patients" and the wider local community.

It has also affected staff at the hospital "who come to work everyday determined to provide safe and high quality care for all of our patients".

"Our staff are devastated," he says, adding that the hospital is committed to ensuring lessons are learned.

Dr Nigel Scawn, medical director at Countess of Chester Hospital, says the whole trust is "deeply saddened and appalled" by Letby's crimes.

"We are extremely sorry that these crimes were committed at our hospital."

The hospital news conference has started. We'll bring you the latest and you can watch it live at the top of this page.

While we wait for the hospital news conference to start, let's take a look at a timeline showing when Letby committed her crimes.

A press conference at Countess of Chester Hospital is due to start shortly. Medical Director Dr Nigel Scawn will be leading it.

We will be bringing you updates right here - or you can stream it by clicking on the Play button at the top of the page.

Janet Moore, the family liaison officer, ends by thanking the investigation and prosecution teams.

The search for the truth remains "at the forefront of everyone's mind", she says, adding that the families "will forever be grateful".

She says they ask for time in peace to process what has happened, "and to come to terms with today's verdict".

Moore, the police family liaison officer, tells reporters that some families did not receive the verdict they were expecting - possibly referring to the six charges that the jury were undecided on.

She calls this a "bittersweet result".

Janet Moore, family liaison officer, has been speaking on behalf of the babies' families.

“We are quite simply stunned”, she says. “To lose a baby, or have a baby harmed in these circumstances, is unimaginable.

Pascale Jones from the CPS says: "Lucy Letby was entrusted to protect some of the most vulnerable babies. Little did those working alongside her know that there was a murderer in their midst."

She says "innocuous substances like air, milk, fluids - or medication like insulin - would become lethal" in the hands of Letby.

"She perverted her learning and weaponised her craft to inflict harm, grief and death," Jones says.

"Time and again, she harmed babies, in an environment which should have been safe for them and their families.

"Parents were exposed to her morbid curiosity and her fake compassion. Too many of them returned home to empty baby rooms. Many surviving children live with permanent consequences of her assaults upon their lives."