Constance Marten to give evidence for the third day – latest

The trial of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon has resumed, with legal arguments taking place before cross-examination continues at 11am.

During her cross examination on Friday, Constance Marten told jurors that she feels “responsible” for “falling asleep” on her newborn baby daughter.

She said that she and her partner Mark Gordon were in a “state of grief and fear” and that they had considered handing herself in to the police, but was worried she would be blamed for the infant’s death.

The 36-year-old added that she was “terrified” that she would have to stand trial, and said that she did not want the police to find baby Victoria’s remains.

However, she said that their daughter had been their “pride and joy” and that the newborn had been shown the maximum amount of love during her short life.

Criticising social services as “corrupt”, the aristocrat added that she had used a false identity to give birth to her first child in order to escape her family, who she described as “extremely oppressive and bigoted”.

Facing questions over whether it was safe to raise a newborn in a ten in winter, she argued that they were looking at it from a “Western perspective” and cited children living in igloos and in Mongolia as an example.

Constance Marten is due to resume giving evidence on Monday morning at the Old Bailey, as she faces another day of questioning from prosecutor Joel Smith.

She previously gave evidence to jurors on Thursday and Friday and became emotional at points, as she described the death of her baby daughter Victoria.

Aristocrat Constance Marten told jurors she feels “responsible” for “falling asleep” on her newborn while living in a tent on the run with Mark Gordon.

The infant died while the couple were living off-grid in a tent in wintry conditions after going on the run to stop her from being taken into care like her four older siblings.

Crime Correspondent Amy-Clare Martin reports from the Old Bailey:

Challenged over why she stopped visiting her other children at contact centres between October 2021 and January 2022, Marten said it was because there was no CCTV.

She claimed she requested to only see her children in contact centres with cameras because social services were misrepresenting their visits in written reports.

“It was too dangerous to go in that environment,” she told the court, adding: “It’s not fair these people have got too much power and no accountability. It’s their word against ours.”

The mother insisted she did not abandon another child at hospital shortly after giving birth.

She said she “didn’t have a choice” and had to leave the baby at hospital after giving birth to prepare for a family court hearing.

She added she did not trust the hospital safeguarding team following a previous bad experience, adding: “I didn’t want to put myself back in that environment.”

Under cross examination, she claimed that her two oldest children suffered abuse after being taken into care.

She argued a family court was wrong to take her first four children, adding: “I think it is very, very corrupt system.”

She said: “Of course there are some great foster carers and there are some excellent social workers but it is a gamble and you don’t know what you are going to get.”

She added: “If I don’t know where my child is going I’m not going to take that risk.”

Challenged over lies she told to doctors during the birth of her first child, when she adopted an Irish accent and told medics she was from the travelling community, she said: “I don’t think lying is particularly bad.

“I think sometimes you might be in a position where you have to.”

She added: “To save my child, for myself and my family, I will do anything.”

Under cross examination, Marten insisted she and Gordon gave fake names at hospital when she delivered her first child because she was trying to escape from her family.

The court heard she put on a fake Irish accent and told medics she was from the travelling community while she was in labour.

“I had to escape my family because my family are extremely oppressive and bigoted and they wouldn’t allow me to have children with my husband and would do anything to erase the child from the family line,” she told the court.

The court was previously told she believed her family were using private detectives to trail her.

She added on Friday: “I knew that they had detectives and if I gave my name they would know my whereabouts.”

Facing questions over whether it was safe to raise a newborn in a tent in winter, she argued that children all over the world are raised in tents – citing children in Mongolia and children living in igloos.

“Mr Smith if you don’t mind we are looking at it from a Western perspective and there are kids all around the world that live in tents,” she told the court.

She later added: “You just have to look at France…Calais…lots of refugees are living in tents with newborn babies and they don’t die because their mothers were taking good care of them.”