The Crown Prosecution Service says it has no plans at present to look again at decisions not to prosecute anyone over the death of the Barrow toddler, Poppi Worthington, unless the coroner asks them to.

Today Cumbria's senior coroner, David Roberts, concluded that on the balance of probabilities Poppi had been sexually assaulted before her death, and that she then suffocated in her father's bed.

Her father, Paul Worthington, has always denied harming his daughter and the CPS has twice decided that there is insufficient evidence to mount a prosecution.

Today a CPS spokesman said: "There are no plans to review our charging decisions in relation to this case but we would of course consider any referral from the coroner."

Poppi Worthington's mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, looked red-eyed and close to tears for much of today's three-hour hearing.

She cannot be named, to protect both her and other members of the family.

But her lawyers told the hearing that she had been waiting five years to find out what had happened to her 13-month-old daughter.

Today, sitting alongside her legal team she left the inquest twice, the first time during graphic medical evidence about her daughter, and a second time after the coroner reached the point where he ruled Poppi had probably been abused before her death.

Afterwards she said through a solicitor that she was disappointed Paul Worthington refused to give evidence and “considers he should have given the coroner the crucial evidence on Poppi’s last few hours”.

The lawyer, Fiona McGhie, said: “(Poppi’s mother) is grateful to the coroner and relieved that, despite the gaps in evidence, she is now closer to the truth, however devastating that truth might be.”

Image source, Family photo

Cumbria's Chief Constable Jerry Graham (pictured) says he will be holding an early meeting with the Crown Prosecution Service after today's findings at the inquest into the death of the Barrow toddler Poppi Worthington.

The inquest heard that an investigation by Cumbria Police was so botched that vital evidence was lost, so exactly what happened to Poppi will never be known and no-one will be charged with any offence over her death.

Speaking at the end of the inquest in Kendal, Mr Graham said much of the evidence had been uncomfortable listening for the force and he repeated his apologies to Poppi's family for the deficiences in the police investigation.

A solicitor representing Paul Worthington, Poppi Worthington's father, said he is considering his options and has been advised not to say anything further.

Mr Worthington declined to answer the majority of questions put to him during the inquest into his daughter's death, and the coroner concluded his evidence "did not stand up to scrutiny".

The Crown Prosecution Service has twice decided it does not have the evidence to prosecute Mr Worthington and he has always denied any wrongdoing.

The coroner at the inquest into the death of Poppi Worthington always said the hearing would be her father's chance to tell his story about how his daughter died.

A High Court judge had decided in 2014, external that Mr Worthington had probably assaulted his daughter before her death.

But crown prosecutors had twice said there was not enough evidence to give a reasonable chance of conviction and Mr Worthington, who has always denied harming Poppi, has never been charged.

The inquest heard that an investigation by Cumbria Police was so botched that vital evidence was lost, so exactly what happened to Poppi will never be known and no-one will be charged with any offence over her death.

At the inquest Mr Worthington declined to answer more than 200 questions under the coroner's rule 22, which allows witnesses to avoid self-incrimination, and an inquest is not allowed to attribute blame for someone's death.

Today the coroner, David Roberts said the accounts given by Paul Worthington “differ and raise concerning questions which cannot be addressed”.

Mr Worthing's evidence, he said, did not stand up to scrutiny.

Image source, FAMILY PHOTO

The coroner at the inquest into the death of Poppi Worthington said he had scrutinised her father Paul as he gave his evidence but it was “difficult to assess his overall demeanour and honesty”.

Mr Worthington declined to answer more than 200 questions under the coroner's rules, which allow witnesses to avoid self-incrimination.

Mr Roberts said: “In my experience people are predisposed to answer questions and when they do not do so they are often embarrassed and behave awkwardly.

“I could not form any reliable views as to his honesty.”

The coroner added: “I have concluded while parts of his previous accounts may be true, I can’t rely on any of them as providing a compete and honest account.”

Mr Roberts said he agreed with the pathologist Dr Alison Armour’s conclusions, that marks found on Poppi were caused by a trauma.

The coroner also said he did not agree with experts who said had Poppi been abused she would had suffered much more obvious injury.

Duncan Leatherdale
BBC News Online

Coroner David Roberts said Paul Worthington’s account of what happened “did not stand up to scrutiny”.

Mr Roberts said the timing of when his daughter Poppi was taken from her bed was important and highlighted inconsistencies in the various statements made by Mr Worthington.

The coroner found that Poppi was taken from her bed sometime after 02:30 when Poppi’s mother had checked on her.

At that point she was alive and sleeping.

Mr Roberts said Mr Worthington (pictured giving evidence at the inquest) took Poppi from her cot and into his bed in a neighbouring room.

He then assaulted her causing Poppi to cry out, a cry heard by Poppi’s mother downstairs.

Image source, JULIA QUENZLER

The cry ended the assault, and the floorboards were heard to creak as Mr Worthington went back to Poppi’s room to retrieve the pink elephant pillow, the coroner said.

Mr Roberts said the assault caused internal bleeding and a reservoir of blood to build up in Poppi’s rectal canal.

Poppi was then placed beneath bed clothes and both she and her father went to sleep for some “significant period of time” with Poppi in such a position that her “breathing was compromised”.

Mr Worthington woke at about 05:56 to find Poppi had stopped breathing.

Mr Roberts said Poppi, a “fit robust, active girl”, was already dead at that point.

The Cumbria coroner David Roberts has been giving what is called a narrative conclusion at the end of the inquest into the death of the Barrow toddler, Poppi Worthington.

Mr Roberts said her father Paul Worthington took Poppi to his bed some time after 02:30 on 12 December 2012.

He assaulted her before laying a duvet or blanket over her and the pair went to sleep, the coroner said.

Mr Roberts said: "The deceased died as a result of her ability to breathe being compromised as a result of an unsafe sleeping environment."

Three weeks of evidence into the death of the Barrow toddler Poppi Worthington failed to produce enough evidence to justify a verdict of unlawful killing, according to the coroner David Roberts.

He said he had reached the conclusion that she had been assaulted on the balance of probabilities.

He said he could not reach a verdict of unlawful killing unless he was sure beyond all reasonable doubt.

Image source, FAMILY PHOTO

Duncan Leatherdale
BBC News Online

Poppi Worthington died when she suffocated in her father’s bed after being anally penetrated, a coroner has concluded.

Senior coroner for Cumbria David Roberts, who held a three-week inquest last year and gave his conclusions today, said he could find no natural cause of the 13-month-old’s death in 2012.

He said he found Paul Worthington, Poppi’s father, took the child to his bed and placed her in an “unsafe sleeping environment”.

Mr Roberts said he believed Mr Worthington penetrated Poppi, probably with a finger, and the assault stopped when the girl cried out in pain.

Poppi Worthington's was sexually assaulted before her death, a coroner believes.

Cumbria coroner David Roberts is delivering his conclusions at the inquest into the death of the 13-month-old toddler in Barrow in 2012.

He ruled she suffered injuries caused by penetration.

More to follow.

Poppi Worthington's death at the age of 13 months began a series of legal hearings and inquiries that has now spanned more than five years.

The task of a coroner's inquest is to establish the identity of the deceased, where and when they died, and how they died.

Cumbria's senior coroner David Roberts (pictured) will have no problem with the first two of those questions, but he may conclude the third cannot be fully answered.

In three weeks last year, he heard from six medical experts, none of whom said there was conclusive evidence showing a cause of death.

Image source, PA

What is left is the question of whether Poppi was sexually abused before her death by her father, Paul, who under inquest rules was allowed not to answer questions where the answer might incriminate him, external, a right he cited in response to 252 questions over two days.

He has always denied harming his daughter, and the Crown Prosecution Service has twice concluded that the evidence does not support a prosecution.

Cumbria Police officers were heavily criticised for the way they handled evidence in the hours after Poppi died, and much was lost.

The coroner is left with the evidence of those medical experts, one of whom insisted the evidence of a post- mortem examination showed Poppi had been abused, and others who maintained it fell short of proving anything.

Continuing his summing up of pathological evidence heard at the inquest into the death of the Barrow toddler Poppi Worthington, the coroner, David Roberts said the third expert, Dr Liina Palm, said some of the symptoms were not unusual.

Based on post-mortem findings there was not enough evidence to support that abuse had occurred, Dr Palm said. She said the cause of death was unascertained.

A fourth medical expert, Dr Stephen Leadbetter, said something had happened to cause the bleeding that other witnesses observed, and that Dr Armour's findings did raise concern.

“But I cannot from the pathological evidence I have seen persuade myself there has been genuine ante-mortem injury", he said.

He also said the cause of death should be unascertained.

The coroner at the Poppi Worthington inquest, David Roberts, then read out further expert evidence, including from a forensic scientists who found Poppi’s DNA on her father, Paul Worthington's, body.

The coroner said the finding did not “assist me at all” as it could well have been transferred there by other means.

The coroner at the Poppi Worthington inquest, David Roberts, has continued his summing up of evidence from a second pathologist, Dr Nat Cary (pictured).

He said Dr Cary had told the inquest that all the findings could be explained by congestion and post-mortem effects.

Dr Cary, he said, had not found it possible to identify a mode of dying.

He suggested a cause of death could be co-sleeping or overlaying.

Duncan Leatherdale
BBC News Online

The coroner at the inquest into the death of Poppi Worthington is now going through the evidence of Dr Nat Cary, the second pathologist to be heard.

He said the findings after Poppi's death that Dr Alison Armour said suggested abuse, were an “entirely normal” post-mortem phenomenon.

He said he would have expected to see other trauma injuries.

Other injuries to Poppi’s throat were “immensely reassuring” that it was not trauma, as the marks were deep down and “well away” from where trauma could have caused.

He said it was possible they were caused during resuscitation attempts and the marks were not caused by trauma before death.

Next the coroner read the evidence of Dr Alison Armour (pictured) who carried out the post-mortem examination of Poppi five days after the death.

Dr Armour was asked if she expressed a view that this may be a case of child abuse before she carried out her test.

She said: “I think I might have said in cases where there is an occult fracture, this is strongly suspicious of child abuse. They would have been in relation to the fractures.”

The fractures were found in a post-mortem skeletal survey.

Mr Roberts then outlined the various haemorrhages and marks identified by Dr Armour as bruises.

Image source, PA

When asked for an opinion on the cause of death, Dr Armour said: “There is no basis for saying this is a natural cause of death. There is evidence of an infected illness but this would not cause death.”

There was no evidence of Poppi suffering from any relevant disease which could have caused the haemorrhages and tears, Dr Armour said.

Then Mr Roberts read the evidence he heard from various Cumbria Police officers.

Insp Helen Ellis said she was at the hospital during the resuscitation efforts.

She said she was told about the blood although was not clear if that had been caused during the resuscitation attempts.

Another officer who went to the house said she saw a nappy and a blanket which looked like it had a blood stain in the living room but she did not seize either item.

The upstairs of the house was secured but not the downstairs.

Det Insp Jon Carton said he viewed Poppi in the children’s ward and arranged for Poppi to be photographed.

He said the house was searched on the afternoon of 12 December and certain items were seized.

Another officer said she searched a wheely bin from which she retrieved three nappies but she did not search a second bin which is where Tracey Worthington (Paul’s sister) said she dumped Poppi’s last nappy.

The coroner has read the evidence of the various medical staff who dealt with Poppi, from the ambulance staff who responded to the 999 call to those at the hospital who fought to save her life.

The ambulance took three minutes to get to Furness General Hospital.

The ambulance staff noted seeing blood and faeces around Poppi’s bottom.

The sheet from the ambulance was taken for laundering.

One ambulance worker said she had seen blood on it although the one who removed the sheet said she could not say for certain whether or not there was anything on it.

Poppi was floppy cold and blue as she was carried into the resuscitation room.

Poppi Worthington's father Paul answered only a handful of questions put to him during the inquest into his daughter's death.

Mr Worthington responded to most questions by saying “I refer to my previous statements, I rely on my right not to answer under rule 22.”

He had made previous statements, one on 12 December 2012 and the other on 2 December 2013.

A number of extracts were put to him for comment at the inquest.

Cumbria coroner David Roberts said today: “Paul Worthington was asked a number of questions about his previous accounts, aspects which are inconsistent.

"He was also asked about other matters which I felt required further explanation, for example why did he not take her downstairs in accordance with the usual routine? Why did he leave her alone on the double bed? Why did he not place her back in the cot? Why did he remove her pyjama bottoms and what did he do with them?”

Mr Roberts said Mr Worthington was “quite entitled to decline to answer the questions” and the coroner drew no adverse conclusions” against him because of it.

He said: In consequence however the fact is Mr Worthington’s evidence to the inquest amounts to little more to what he has given before.”