Cot death expert's windfalls

The payments made to discredited cot death expert Sir Roy Meadow for giving evidence against mothers are revealed today.

New figures reveal the paediatrician earned nearly ?40,000 by testifying against women suspected of murdering their children.

In the case against Sally Clark, who was wrongfully convicted of killing her two babies, he made £6,471 helping the prosecution in court - and thousands more helping police with the case.

Meadow's claim at her trial that the chance of two cot deaths in one well-off family was "one in 73 million" was later labelled "grossly misleading" and "manifestly wrong" by Appeal judges.

He also made £3,462 for testifying against Angela Cannings and a large sum giving evidence against Margaret Smith. Both were wrongly convicted of murder on the basis of his testimony.

His earnings will renew the debate about payments to expert witnesses - with critics warning the practice can distort evidence.

Meadow is at the heart of potentially the biggest serial miscarriage of justice in the history of the legal system after giving flawed evidence in dozens of cot death cases.

He repeatedly insisted that "one cot death is a tragedy, two suspicious, and three murder".

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal he was paid by courts across England for helping the prosecution in 19 cases which reached trial.