'Shaking' cases to be reviewed

Dozens of parents jailed for allegedly shaking their babies to death are to have their cases reviewed by the Attorney General, it was reported today.

The cases will form part of a wider investigation into all infant murders in the past 10 years.

It was launched by Lord Goldsmith last week following the case of Angela Cannings, 40, who was cleared of murdering two of her baby sons after the quality of expert witnesses was called into question. A total of 258 cotdeath cases are being looked at again.

Doctors and legal experts believe that as many as 15 per cent of cases related to shaken-baby syndrome (SBS) which have come before the courts could have been misdiagnosed as murder.

Under the review all murder and manslaughter convictions resulting from SBS will be reexaminedand those cases where there is disputed medical evidence will be referred back to the Appeal Court.

A spokesman for Lord Goldsmith told The Times that he is then expected to announce another investigation into the hundreds of SBS cases reported each year which do not result in death.

Recent medical research suggested that injuries to a baby's brain may have a more innocent explanation than a deliberate and violent shaking.