The trust and a former ward manager, Benjamin Aninakwa, face the charge over the death of 22-year-old Alice Figueiredo at Goodmayes Hospital on 7 July 2015.

A spokesperson for NELFT said: ‘We would like to extend our most sincere and deepest condolences again to Alice's family at this difficult time. We will continue to engage fully with the process, but we are unable to discuss specific details to ensure we protect the integrity of the legal proceedings.'

The charge was announced by the Crown Prosecution Service after a Metropolitan police investigation into Figueiredo's death.

NEFLT is the second NHS trust to be charged with corporate manslaughter but the first to stand trial over the death of a mental health inpatient.

The trial at the Old Bailey is expected to begin on Monday or Tuesday next week.