'Killer' nurse in tears at court: 'I only wanted to care for them'

Letby 'suicidal' after murders arrest

- PAUL BYRNE

THE nurse accused of murdering seven babies and trying to kill 10 more wept in court yesterday as she denied attacking them.

Lucy Letby, 33, told the court she felt suicidal after being accused but said she had done her best for the infants.

She is accused of attacking babies in the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital in Cheshire between June 2015 and June 2016.

Asked by her defence barrister Ben Myers KC how many children she would have cared for over that period, she replied: "Probably hundreds."

And when asked if she had ever done anything to harm them, she said: "No, I only did my best to care for them."

She added: "It was completely against what being a nurse is. I'm there to help and care, not harm them."

Letby said she was devastated when she was removed from clinical duties in July 2016 and told her work competencies had to be checked.

Later, she was told she was being blamed for the deaths of babies in a letter from the Royal College of Nursing in September 2016.

She said: "It was sickening. I just could not believe it. It was devastating.