 Nazir Afzal, Chief Crown Prosecutor for the North West, said Leighton had been charged on the basis there was "reasonable suspicion she had committed the offences and there were reasonable grounds for believing the continuing investigation would provide further evidence within a reasonable amount of time".She subsequently hired celebrity publicist Max Clifford to help clear her name.On 2 December 2011, it was reported that Leighton had been dismissed from her job as a nurse at Stepping Hill Hospital.