Killer nurse Lucy Letby is refusing to appear in court on Monday when she is due to be sentenced for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of another six.

There was mounting anger after it emerged the 33-year-old had told her defence lawyers that she will not come up from the cells to hear the judge deliver his sentencing remarks.

Letby had already refused to go into the dock at Manchester Crown Court for much of this week’s proceedings, when the jury came back to return their verdicts on many of the separate counts of murder and attempted murder she faced.

She had previously been in the courtroom to hear her pronounced guilty on two counts of attempted murder, at which point she broke down and sobbed uncontrollably.

Three days later, on Friday Aug 11, six more guilty verdicts were handed down, including four counts of murder.

This time Letby kept her head bowed throughout - but since then has refused to return to the dock.