Nurse cleared of poisoning patients is suing police for £100,000 after British cops 'changed her Facebook password and made her profile public'

A nurse cleared of poisoning patients is attempting to sue the police for £100,000 after officers allegedly leaked her name to the Press and made her private Facebook account available to the public.

Rebecca Leighton spent six weeks in custody as police investigated the deaths of several patients from suspected saline drip contamination.

After being charged with contaminating saline fluids with insulin, Ms Leighton was refused bail for her own protection. But the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges because of a lack of sufficient evidence against her.

The Times has now reported that in a High Court writ the nurse has alleged officers asked for her Facebook password following her arrest so it could be closed down 'to minimise the potentially damaging intrusion into her private life and avoid prejudicing public opinion towards her'.

But it is alleged an officer reset the password and deactivated then reactivated the account, which meant her previously private page was made available to all internet users. Ms Leighton's family and solicitor were also allegedly unable to shut the page down because the password had been changed.

The nurse has claimed officers gave her name to the media, who obtained messages and pictures from her Facebook account, while 'highly abusive and distressing' messages were also posted by members of the public.

It is also alleged officers obtained confidential information from her Hotmail account after she gave her password so it could be shut down.

She is now seeking compensation of up to £100,000 for aggravated damages for breach of confidence, misuse of private information, negligence and breach of a statutory duty and her legal costs.

The 29-year-old says the publicity resulted in her being remanded in custody and has left her unable to find work. She alleges she has also had to abandon a business venture which has lost her £22,157.

In February she was suspended for three months by a Nursing and Midwifery Council panel after she admitted stealing drugs.

The panel found her fitness to practice impaired following a disciplinary hearing in which she suggested staff habitually took medication from the premises.

Ms Leighton sobbed gently as the panel, sitting in London, said the 'relatively short' suspension would be the best course of action as she had shown remorse, had done the best to atone for actions and was unlikely to repeat her misconduct. Colleagues also had confidence in her as a nurse, it noted.

Panel chairman Susan Hurds said: 'We are satisfied that Ms Leighton has learned a tremendous amount from the experience and we are satisfied she would not repeat her actions.'

The disciplinary panel found that she was 'not fundamentally dishonest' and had worked hard to mediate her conduct since the incident. Ms Hurds said she had sought no intentional financial benefit and had a 'previously unblemished nursing career'.

In September 2011, following her release from jail, Ms Leighton told ITV's This Morning how she was too frightened to walk down the street alone. She said she had been portrayed as an 'Angel of Death' following her arrest. She said the ‘normal life’ she enjoyed before she was arrested had been destroyed.

Original report here




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