Angela Cannings had her murder convictions quashed last month

Attorney General Lord Goldsmith had said 258 cases where cot death could have been a cause would be reviewed.

But after a meeting with Criminal Cases Review Commission head Professor Graham Zellick, Lord Goldsmith said the final number would be "much smaller".

The pair were discussing how they could judge which cases were suspect.

Hallmarks

The Attorney General said he was unwilling to speculate on what the final number may be adding: "We don't how many cases will bear the hallmarks that the Court of Appeal identified.

"Let's see when we've seen the facts."

The Appeal Court ruled on Monday that parents should not be prosecuted over the sudden, unexplained death of a child where cot death was a possibility.

Lord Justice Judge had been explaining the court's reasons for overturning Angela Cannings's conviction for murdering her two sons.

Everything possible is being done to reach justice in these cases Lord Goldsmith Cannings attacks 'expert' Meadow

The case had rested on the evidence of discredited expert witness Sir Roy Meadow.

Lord Judge said medical science was "still at the frontiers of knowledge" about unexplained infant deaths.

If the outcome of a trial relied "almost exclusively on a serious disagreement between distinguished and reputable experts, it will often be unwise, and therefore unsafe, to proceed," he said.

The judges said Mrs Cannings's case had broad implications for other cases involving parents accused of harming their children.

Q&A Cot death trials review

The Cannings case followed a decision earlier last year to overturn solicitor Sally Clarke's conviction of murdering her two young sons, and the acquittal of pharmacist Trupti Patel on charges of murdering her three babies.

The Crown Prosecution Service was also asked by Lord Goldsmith to review 15 ongoing cases involving an unexplained infant death.

The Criminal Case Review Commission is now waiting to receive cases to review.