Angela Cannings, the mother accused and later cleared of killing her two baby sons, called today for the immediate implementation of guidelines being published today on the investigation of sudden infant death cases.

Mrs Cannings, 41, walked free from a life jail sentence last year after appeal judges cleared her of murder.

After her acquittal and other high-profile miscarriages of justice involving the death of young children, the Royal College of Pathologists and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health set up a working party to review procedures for investigating such cases.

They publish their report today, setting out a new protocol for handling unexpected child deaths and calling for doctors, social workers and police to treat families with "sensitivity, discretion and respect".

Mrs Cannings told GMTV: "I think the recommendations are clear and I hope that as this report comes out today that it will be actioned as from today and [without] any more delays with anything - because the more delays, the more trauma that families are going through."

She added that she hoped the protocol would stop another miscarriage of justice: "They are putting these guidelines in place and I believe that the authorities should learn from all of the past traumas in families and act on it."

Mrs Cannings said that the authorities had failed to offer her support since the Court of Appeal overturned the jury’s verdict that Cannings smothered seven-week-old Jason in 1991 and 18-week-old Matthew in 1999.

She told the programme that "the finger of doubt" was pointed about six hours after Matthew died, and added: "I have to say, to this day since the day I have been released, not one authority has actually said sorry to us. Nobody has offered any help.

"We are actually at this moment trying to organise counselling for Terry and myself. Again, I just feel because of everything we have been through, you know, I think authorities should come forward and help us."

Many people have complained that parents in such cases are treated like criminals before the real cause of death has been established. The protocol stresses that all those involved in the investigation should keep an open mind about what has happened and why.

The working group, chaired by Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, said that while the majority of sudden unexpected infant deaths were natural tragedies, a minority were a consequence of ignorance, neglect or abuse.

The experts also highlighted the importance of close collaboration between hospital staff, the pathologist, police, social services, the coroner and others involved in the investigation.

They said that each NHS trust should identify a paediatrician with special responsibility for sudden unexpected infant deaths. The group said that babies found dead at home should always be taken to the A&E department, not to the mortuary, and resuscitation "should always be initiated unless clearly inappropriate".

The guidelines provide precise instructions for handling an investigation, with an emphasis on gathering all the available medical and forensic evidence and keeping the parents informed. This would include explaining the involvement of police and coroner and the need for a post-mortem examination.

The experts said the police should be informed immediately if there is significant suspicion of abuse or neglect so their investigation was not compromised. The welfare of other children in the household should also be taken into account.

Pathologists, paediatricians, coroners and police have been working on the report since November last year. It follows growing concerns about potential injustices involving parents who have been jailed or had children taken away because of fears of abuse.

In many cases, later medical evidence has revealed that the children died of natural causes.

Sally Clark had her murder convictions quashed in January 2003 after evidence showed that her two sons died of an undetected lung infection and a bacterial infection. She had spent more than three years in jail.

Concerns have also been raised about expert witnesses in such cases, including Sir Roy Meadow whose evidence was used in the trials of Mrs Clark and Mrs Cannings.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Science News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Computer warriors pay for far-away mercenaries
• Divorce rate falls to 26-year low
• Boris adviser says Olympians tainted with blood