Poppi Worthington death: No further review, CPS says

Poppi Worthington was blue and not breathing when she was taken to hospital

There will be no further review into the death of toddler Poppi Worthington, prosecutors have said.

In January, coroner David Roberts said the 13-month-old was sexually assaulted by her father, Paul, before her death in December 2012 from asphyxia.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said no new evidence "capable of affecting decisions not to prosecute" had emerged at the inquest.

Poppi's mother said she was "extremely disappointed" by the decision.

In a statement released through her solicitor Fiona McGhie, she said it was the "third time" a court had found, on the balance of probabilities, that Poppi was sexually assaulted prior to death

Ms McGhie said Poppi's mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, "was also left disappointed that Poppi's father chose to rely on his right not to answer many questions which may incriminate him at the inquest.

She added: "While she understands he was entitled to do this, she considers that the coroner's inquiry was frustrated by this.

"The past five years have been a complete nightmare for her.

"Not knowing what happened to Poppi on that day, and knowing that there were evidence gathering failures by the police in the very early stages of the investigation has made things even worse.

"Although she is now closer to the devastating truth, it is likely that she may never get full closure on exactly what happened that night."

Poppi Worthington death: Key dates

'Why did you hurt your daughter?'

The inquest: Review of evidence, findings and conclusion

High levels of security were in place when Paul Worthington attended the second inquest

Three reviews were conducted between March 2015 and November 2016.

On those occasions, three different prosecutors decided that there was "insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction".

During the three-week inquest at Kendal Coroner's Court in November last year, Mr Worthington declined to answer 252 questions about the circumstances surrounding Poppi's death.

He said he had gone to get her a fresh nappy and returned a few minutes later to find her limp and unresponsive.

He told the coroner he rushed downstairs and Poppi's mother called an ambulance. Poppi was pronounced dead at Furness General Hospital soon after.

However, Mr Roberts said the 50-year-old's account of events did not "stand up to scrutiny".

He ruled Mr Worthington assaulted his daughter in his bed, laid a cover over her and went to sleep with Poppi dying because her ability to breathe was compromised as a result of "an unsafe sleeping environment."

Mr Worthington is now living in hiding with the help of police protection

In a statement announcing its latest decision, the CPS said: "The coroner's verdict has now been considered carefully.

"No new witness was called at the inquest whose evidence had not already been considered by the CPS prosecutors.

"The medical issues raised by those witnesses were the same and the evidence given by each in respect of those issues was essentially the same.

"As in all cases, we would consider any future referrals from police should significant new evidence become available to them."

Cumbria Police, which carried out a second investigation into the youngster's death after its first was found to have suffered a catalogue of failures, said it had "liaised closely with the CPS over the past two months".

Temporary deputy chief constable Mark Webster said the force's officers had "thoroughly explored every available line of enquiry" and that he respected the CPS's decision.