Alder Hey Children's Hospital said Dr Selby was a "first class consultant"

A doctor accused of lying to parents during the Alder Hey organ retention scandal has been cleared of serious professional misconduct.

But the General Medical Council found Dr Andrew Selby had unwittingly misled a couple that their baby boy was buried with his organs intact.

Owen Williams died at the Liverpool children's hospital in January 1999 of serious heart and lung problems.

His organs were retained by the hospital following a post-mortem examination.

The GMC was told Dr Selby had persuaded Nick and Julie Wilkinson to agree to a post-mortem examination but never told them that organs might be retained.

They believed their son had been buried intact but later sought assurances about that from Dr Selby.

Earlier, Dr Selby's lawyer told the hearing he had honestly believed what he had told them.

Owen was buried without most of his organs

They only discovered the truth through an exhumation.

The incident occurred before the organ retention scandal became public.

But it was several years after Dr Dick van Velzen, the pathologist at the centre of the scandal, left the hospital.

In a statement, the hospital said Dr Selby had followed standard practices which were in place at the time.

It added he was a "first class consultant" and that staff felt "wholly demoralised" by what he had been through.

When the hearing's decision was announced, Owen's mother broke down in tears.