Former friend of Liam Fee killers says 'no sentence long enough'

Gillian McCusker said Rachel and Nyomi Fee's sentence could ever be enough for their crimes

A former friend of the women who murdered toddler Liam Fee has told the BBC that "no sentence" could ever be enough for their crimes.

Although Gillian McCusker had fallen out with Rachel and Nyomi Fee just before the two-year-old's death she had been very close friends with the pair.

She said she never suspected any wrongdoing during the time she knew the Fees.

The couple were convicted of killing Liam at his Fife home in March 2014.

They had blamed another boy for the murder.

Shouting 'help'

Ms McCusker said she would now change a "friends forever" tattoo, that she had done with the Fees, so she would not have a daily reminder of the women.

She said: "I was shocked, totally shocked when everything happened.

"I looked out of my window and I saw a load of ambulances and I saw them standing in the street shouting 'help'.

"I didn't know what to do at the time as we weren't talking."

Ms McCusker said she regretted that "nothing" could be done now that Liam was gone.

Nyomi (left) and Rachel Fee murdered two-year-old Liam

Ms McCusker said that when she went into the Fee's house to feed their snakes when they were on holiday in St Andrews there was "nothing out of place" to make her suspect the pair were doing harm.

She said: "They are going to be in jail for sometime but they don't even deserve a place in prison because they are still going to get everything paid for them and they are still going to get every day of their lives.

"It's not fair because they are going to come out and they are still going to have their own lives to lead and little Liam, where is he? Nowhere.

"He's not got a life. So it's never going to be enough, never."

She said there was nothing she could have done to stop the couple as she was unaware there were any problems.

The former friend also said she did not think social services could have done any more to help the children.