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On 20 March 2001 Steven Morris of The Guardian reported “Expert witness's work 'deficient'

He said, cloud over work of expert witness. An experienced forensic pathologist who has been involved in several high profile cases was yesterday accused of botching a string of postmortem examinations. A professional standards committee called for Paula Lannas to be removed from the register of approved forensic pathologists used by the police and coroners to look into suspicious deaths. Members of the disciplinary tribunal which will decide Dr Lannas's fate were told that in four cases which were examined, the way her evidence was presented to the police and the crown prosecution service "significantly affected the subsequent course of events". One case which caused particular concern was a postmortem examination carried out on a baby who it was believed had been murdered. So "suspect" were her conclusions that the prosecution had to tell the jury that it could not rely on her evidence.

The tribunal is being watched by at least one legal team representing a person convicted after a trial in which Dr Lannas gave evidence. Since 1990 Dr Lannas, who qualified as a doctor in 1974, has performed more than 7,300 autopsies, including almost 400 suspicious deaths. She has been involved in cases including that of Leah Betts, who died after taking an ecstasy tablet on her 18th birthday in 1995, and Joy Gardner, who died in 1993 after police tried to arrest her for deportation. However, the names of the deceased in the cases which are being considered by the Home Office's policy advisory board for forensic pathology disciplinary tribunal are not being revealed.

The quality of Dr Lannas's work came under scrutiny during a routine audit in 1996. The board's quality assurance and scientific standards committee began to investigate and learned that two Essex coroners, including Dr Malcolm Weir who oversaw the Leah Betts inquest, had stopped her performing autopsies in their areas. In three cases involving deaths in Essex, said Nicola Davies QC, for the standards committee, Dr Lannas failed to carry out a "vital aspect of the autopsy". In one, for example, she did not dissect the face though a police officer had told her that it was possible the deceased had been assaulted. A subsequent autopsy revealed a recent bruise. Turning to the autopsy on the baby, Ms Davies said it "fell woefully short of the requisite standards". Though Ms Davies did not give details of the case, it is known that during a trial at the Old Bailey, Home Office pathologist Iain West described the way the baby's neck was dissected as "cack-handed".

A jury at the Old Bailey took only 30 minutes to clear the defendant, who was accused of murdering the 16-month-old child, his girlfriend's son. Ms Davies said Dr Lannas's pathology work "consistently fell substantially short" of the standards expected of advisory board members. There were "substantive deficiencies" in her technical approach and medical knowledge. The "sheer number and nature of the professional deficiencies alleged" led to the conclusion that Dr Lannas's accreditation should be terminated or suspended. Before the hearing a spokesperson for Dr Lannas said she maintained that throughout her career she had acted properly and professionally. She was "confident" that her work would stand up to rigorous inspection.

Dr Lannas has worked in forensic medicine in the UK since 1980, having moved from Zimbabwe where she was a government pathologist. The hearing continues.

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