A social worker involved in the care of murdered Fife toddler Liam Fee has been struck off for misconduct.

The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) upheld 12 of 13 charges against Lesley Bate involving 15 children during her time at Fife Council.

The SSSC conduct sub-committee returned its verdict on Tuesday, saying while she may not have intended to harm the children her actions exposed them to "unnecessary risk of harm".

The panel found Ms Bate's failings amounted to neglect and her behaviour was well below the standards of practice expected of a registered social worker.

A final decision on which sanctions would be taken against Ms Bate was due to be made public next month but the panel resumed its meeting on Tuesday afternoon to say Ms Bate was being struck off.

In a lengthy judgement, sub-committee convener Catherine Duthie said Ms Bate had left Liam Fee at "actual or potential risk of harm".

The sub-committee found Bate had failed to follow up with Liam's health visitor after a referral was made to social workers in January 2013 about bruising to his face, or to record any such follow up.

Ms Bate also failed to follow up with Liam's childminder after receiving a report of concern that he had a sore neck or to consider if an initial referral was needed. She also failed to record any follow up.

His mother and her partner were later convicted of the murder the two-year-old in March 2014.

The sub-committee said Ms Bate "failed to take necessary steps to minimise actual or potential risk of harm, failed to maintain clear and accurate records and failed to meet relevant standards of practice."

It said "systemic failures" at Fife Council had played a part in the "pattern of misconduct that developed".

The panel also criticised other social workers, including Ms Bate's boss in the Fife Council child protection team, Karen Pedder, branding them "defensive" and "evasive" when they gave evidence.

They were said to be "less reliable than might reasonably have been expected" during the hearing.

A week-long hearing in Dundee earlier this month was told Ms Bate was "disorganised and chaotic".

It also heard the team responsible for Liam Fee's case was plagued by infighting and divided into two camps.

Ms Bate did not attend the hearing, which examined 13 allegations.

The hearing was told she put the children "at unnecessary risk" by neglecting her duties.

Committee convenor Catherine Duthie said her misconduct "could have been addressed more effectively" by the council.

She said: "That is not to say that more effective management intervention would have prevented all of your misconduct but it may have prevented the pattern of misconduct that developed.

"However, whilst systemic failures may have been a factor in the frequency and the duration of your misconduct it does not relieve you of your responsibilities as a social worker and does not excuse your misconduct."

She added: "Your failures repeatedly placed very vulnerable service users at risk of harm, including physical and emotional harm.

"The sub-committee is in no doubt that your misconduct is of such a serious nature that it is likely to damage public confidence in social services. The damage may be considerable.

"The sub-committee is persuaded that this behaviour occurred with such frequency that it amounts to the neglect of service users.

"Whilst you may not have intended to harm service users your actions exposed them to unnecessary harm."

A spokesman for Fife Council welcomed the findings of the tribunal.

He said: "While we cannot discuss the details of current or former employees, we would reassure that the practice highlighted in this case is historic in nature and was dealt with robustly at the time.

"The case was first reported by the council, to the SSSC, over three years ago and this week's hearing is the conclusion of that referral."

The spokesman added: "This case does not reflect our current practice or the high standard of professionalism which we expect and receive from our social work staff."

He said Fife Council's children's services were subject to a joint inspection earlier this year by the Care Inspectorate, Education Scotland, Healthcare Improvement Scotland and HMI of Constabulary for Scotland, who gave a "very positive" view of services in Fife.

The spokesman added: "It remains extremely important that we continuously scrutinise the work that we do.

"Significant case reviews, such as that underway into the death of Liam Fee, contribute to this scrutiny and we look forward to promoting any learning from this review as widely as possible, to help improve practice across agencies."

Ms Bate had already relinquished her SSSC registration but does not admit any wrongdoing in relation to the charges.