Cot deaths compensation could top £100m

The compensation bill for parents wrongly imprisoned as baby killers in Britain's biggest miscarriage of justice could top £100 million.

The Government is bracing itself for record claims in the wake of the discrediting of paediatrician Professor Sir Roy Meadow, whose expert evidence helped convict a series of parents of killing their babies.

A total of 258 cases are being examined to establish if parents convicted of the murder, manslaughter or infanticide of their babies rely on the evidence of experts alone.

Already cases have been identified where women are still in prison or have only recently been released after serving long sentences because of convictions on the word of Professor Meadow. Every parent wrongfully convicted will be able to claim massive compensation for their ruined lives.

The extent of the likely compensation bill was revealed as fellow medical experts spoke out against the now retired professor and said he had reversed the criminal burden of proof to give mothers an uphill task proving their innocence.

David Rushton, a fetal, perinatal and paediatric pathologist, said: "You can be suspicious, in cases where there is more than one cot death but to make out that there is some sort of statistical certainty, as he did, is not something-I would do." Professor Meadow is facing charges of serious professional misconduct and if found guilty could be stripped of his NHS pension.

England's second most senior judge, Lord Justice Judge, yesterday ruled that no parent should go to prison on the word of one expert in a field which is at "the frontiers of medical knowledge" as he gave the reasons for overturning Angela Cannings's conviction for murdering two babies.

It could still take months for any parent wrongfully convicted to clear her name as there is no mechanism for overturning large numbers of convictions. Each must go to the Court of Appeal individually.

Every parent would be entitled to compensation which will start on a

standard scale of £72,000 for every year spent in prison.

They will also be able to claim "aggravated damages" for the effect the case has had on their lives - meaning that the loss of their homes, collapse of their marriage or loss of access to other children can also be taken into account.

One lawyer who specialises in the field, and asked not to be named in case they become involved in a compensation claim, said: "The potential for each claim to run beyond £1 million is clearly there.

"The aggravating circumstances are much worse than many other wrongful convictions, because they involve parents being prosecuted for murder when in fact they have suffered what is probably the most traumatic event of their life."

Compensation payments are made on behalf of the Government by an independent assessor.

Stephen Downing, who wrongly spent 27 years in prison for the socalled Bakewell Tart murder, won £1.8 million in compensation, while Harry Mackenney, recently released after spending 23 years in jail for a murder which did not even happen, stands to get £1.75 million.

But their payouts are largely based on the standard £72,000 "tariff ", while the legal experts said the "aggravated damages" part of any parent wrongfully convicted would be far larger.

Today medical experts today condemned Professor Meadow for presuming mothers were guilty of harming their children until proven innocent.

Paediatric pathologists admitted they were amazed so many juries had convicted mothers on the basis of his theories and said he " grossly exaggerated" the incidence of Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy, the syndrome which he first described.

Paediatric pathologist Professor Anthony Barson, said: "Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy does exist, but Professor Meadow grossly exaggerated the incidence. There is also rarely any way of proving, beyond any shadow of doubt, that someone has it."

Another paediatric pathologist, who has worked with Professor Meadow and asked not to be named, said: "His approach is that all baby deaths are suspicious and are murders until proven otherwise. I don't believe he is the monster that some make him out to be, but I cannot agree with his approach."