A British nurse pleaded not guilty on Monday to the murder of eight babies and the attempted killing of 10 more while working on a hospital unit for newborns.

Lucy Letby, 31, answered "not guilty" to each of the charges as she appeared by video link at Manchester Crown Court in northwest England.

It took four minutes for the murder charges concerning five boys and three girls and the attempted murder of five boys and five girls to be read out in court.

The defendant, from Hereford in western England, is alleged to have carried out the killings over a 12-month period between June 2015 and June 2016.

All of the alleged murders and attempted murders relate to children less than a year old who were receiving care at the neonatal unit in the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwest England.

Restrictions prohibit the reporting of the identities of the surviving and dead children as well as their parents.

Letby wore a dark blue top with her hair in a pony tail as she appeared virtually from prison in Peterborough in eastern England where she is being held on remand.

After entering her pleas, she sat in silence during the 30-minute administrative hearing.

The presiding judge, James Goss, remanded Letby in custody and set a date of October 4, 2022, for the trial, which will also be held in Manchester.

A pre-trial hearing will be held in January.