In June 2004 Mary Fulton spent two days in Manchester with Sally Clark on behalf of The Times, which was serialising her autobiography.

“She had wanted to go to a General Medical Council hearing into the conduct of Professor David Southall, where her husband Stephen was giving evidence.

He was the one who had gone through all the papers and found the flaws. We were concerned that she would be overwhelmed by all the media interest so I accompanied her and we stayed in this hotel that was being renovated next to the railway tracks.

“She did not go out at all except with Steve and I realised how limited and restricted her life had become.

“I thought she was an extraordinary person. She was absolutely devastated by the prison.

“Even if she had killed her two children, prison was totally the wrong place for her. This was her tragedy. This was someone who had not done anything. It was so unbelievably terrible. She was very clear that prison was a totally and utterly devastating experience. It marked her. She was branded a child killer from the moment she arrived.

“In prison there is of course a hierachy of crime and child killing was the worst.

“From the little she did tell me — I don’t think she ever completely opened up about her prison experiences even to her husband — she was absolutely victimised.

“She was a woman who had a career, who had a family and who had a life. When that was all taken away she had absolutely nothing. Even after she had been completely exonerated the pain was absolutely and utterly deep-seated. She was in fear of going out and being recognised. The chance of having even a semblance of a normal life had gone. It must have been impossible for her.

“Stephen was incredibly protective of her; he of course has had his life completely and utterly changed by all that has happened.

“She was in prison all that time and he was bringing up their other child, fighting the case for her. He was so devoted to her. It was a huge injustice for both of them. It was absolutely overwhelming.”

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