A scrum of spectators and an elephant in the room during

There was keen interest in seeing the former nurse give evidence and at one point she gave a flicker of emotion

On the sweltering summer morning when Lucy Letby began giving her evidence at Manchester crown court, the scene outside courtroom seven looked more like the queue for Centre Court at Wimbledon than for a criminal trial over the alleged attempted murder of a newborn baby girl.

Two dozen spectators crowded the doors for a seat in the cramped courtroom where Letby would speak publicly for the first time since she was convicted last year of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six others.