Girl's 'FGM examination revealed scar', Bristol Crown Court hears

The court heard from consultants about the results of an examination performed on the girl

A medical examination of a six-year-old girl suspected of having female genital mutilation (FGM) revealed a small lesion, a trial has heard.

A "scar" on the girl's genitals could indicate "she may have undergone FGM", a paediatrician told the court.

Two other doctors questioned at Bristol Crown Court said they could not confirm if it had taken place.

The girl's father, who cannot be named to protect the child's identity, denies allowing her to be assaulted.

He is on trial charged with cruelty on a child under the age of 16 in relation to the procedure.

'Small burn'

Dr Lindsay Mackintosh, a consultant paediatrician, examined the girl in May 2016 and told the court she thought there was a "tiny" lesion on the clitoris itself, "probably a couple of millimetres at most".

She said this form of FGM is classified as a Type 4, adding: "I was concerned that she had been pricked or possibly had a small burn to her clitoris using a hot, sharp object."

The girl told Dr Mackintosh that she had not suffered any injury to her genitals, the court heard.

Two other experts - Professor Sarah Creighton and Nicholas Morris - examined photographs from the examination but could not confirm FGM had taken place, but also could not exclude it.

The girl's father, 29, who at one point drove a private hire vehicle, is alleged to have confessed toa passenger - an anti-FGM campaigner - that he had allowed her to be cut, saying it was "a tradition".

He is also alleged to have told the passenger that many women have the "big cut" but his daughter had "the small one".

The trial continues.